Britain has already downgraded diplomatic ties with Iran following a major
attack on its embassy in Tehran in November, pulling all diplomats out and
expelling their Iranian counterparts from the UK.
The British government says the attack was sanctioned by the Islamic
Republic’s ruling elite.
Iran has repeatedly jammed the broadcasts of BBC’s Persian-language service
and other international broadcasters.
New York-based Human Rights Watch
said the harassment was part of a wave of arrests against journalists and
bloggers ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for next month.
“Detaining a BBC reporter’s relative seems to be part of a wider campaign
to harass Iranian journalists by putting pressure on them and their families,”
said Sarah Leah Whitson, the group’s Middle East director.
“The recent wave of arrests, especially against relatives of journalists
working abroad, is a reprehensible escalation in the current campaign to
stifle freedom of information in Iran.”
Related posts:
Views: 0