It should be no surprise to hear that Iran is a country that does not warm to the idea of free press. When we hear that journalists are being imprisoned at an alarmingly fast rate recently no one should be shocked. Iran has a messy past and has been ruled by religious extremists who feel it is their duty to oppress their people. Yet here they are in the news once again for targeting journalists and cracking down on the media.
Many fear that this recent crack down will cause the upcoming election to be anything but fair. With the history of this country its not too unlikely for this to be true true. The government in power is not known to be fair and unbiased. Although they will be having an election, it doesnt mean and it will be fair. Ayatollah Khamenei and his ally current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will do what it takes to stay in power.
“The United Nations' monitor for human rights in Iran sounded the alarm Tuesday over a rise in arrests of journalists, saying this was part of a pattern of increasing violations as presidential elections loom. Seventeen journalists were arrested in the space of one week in January, Ahmed Shaheed told reporters.” Globalpost.com
In hopes to squash the opposer's from gaining any ground or publicity the government has issued a ban on many news sites or western influenced papers. Iranian journalists who correspond with any of these sources are seen as traitors. They have basically decided to police the Internet. As is it is closely watched and monitored. The President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is not interested in the people having seeds of doubt or hope planted in their heads. He does not want someone else to claim his place and he will do his best to keep it that way.
The government is arresting the journalists and lawyers because they are talking to international news sources or even to human rights groups. This is where the red flag went up for the UN. How is this a reason to throw someone in jail? The Iranian government sees them as a threat.
“At least 10 lawyers are in custody, including Nasrin Sotoudeh, Abdolfattah Soltani and Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, for crimes including "spreading propaganda against the system through interviews with foreign media", he told the U.N. Human Rights Council during a two-day debate on Iran” ChicagoTribune.com
With the laundry list of human rights violations, which includes torture and forced confessions, there is no wonder why the government wouldn't want anyone whether it be a journalist or a lawyer speaking to foreign press and especially human rights groups. As long as there is a tyranical government in place it is unlikely that much can be done to stop them.