LONDON: Iranian journalists working for UK-based broadcasters have been threatened by the authorities in Tehran after protests rocked the country.
Britain’s National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said staff at broadcasters Iran International and the BBC Persian Service have also had family members threatened and harassed.
On Tuesday, the Iranian judiciary’s website said it imposed “judicial and legal restrictions” on property held by individuals associated with Iran International.
Iran has accused foreign media of stirring up the protests that started on Nov. 15 and led to at least 143 people killed by the security forces in a brutal crackdown, according to Amnesty International.
Michelle Stanistreet, the NUJ’s general secretary, called on Iran to stop the “cruel and inhumane tormenting of families.”
“Once again NUJ members working in the UK are being hounded and harassed by the Iranian state,” she said. “Officials are using outrageous tactics to intimidate and threaten journalists across a range of media outlets in the UK and internationally, including the targeting of our members at Iran International and the BBC Persian Service.”
On Friday, Iran's ambassador to Britain, Hamid Baeidinejad, said the mission had written to Britain's broadcasting watchdog Ofcom about the conduct of “hostile Farsi networks.”
