Parisa Hafezi, Reuters, convicted in Iran
An Iranian jury found Reuters guilty on Sunday of “propaganda against the regime” after broadcasting a video report about Iranian women doing martial arts which already caused in March the “suspension” of Agency’s activities in Iran, local media reported, quoted by AFP.
Reuters was found guilty also of “publishing false information and causing public disturbance,” and “spreading lies” against the Iranian state, the official IRNA news agency announced, citing Prosecutor General.
The jury’s decision will be on its course to be upheld by a judge of a court in Tehran, to determine the sentence against the agency in the coming week, according to Iranian channel Press TV. No timetable has been communicated in this regard.
Reuters, which may appeal against conviction, declined to make any comment to AFP. The news agency, which is part of Thomson Reuters, based in New York, was represented in court by Parisa Hafezi, Reuters Tehran bureau chief, who is affected by a ban on travel abroad while the case is still subject to sentencing.
The case arose after the broadcast, in early February, of a video report by Reuters about women who participated in a “ninja” training in Karaj, near Tehran, with the headline: “Thousands of women are training to become ninja assassins in Iran”.
Reuters changed the title after several days of protests in Tehran after which it released a public apology. But Iranian authorities have withdrawn shortly afterwards, the accreditation to all journalists of the agency in Tehran and suspended its activities in Iran.
In late March, Reuters chief editor Stephen Adler told the New York Times that the error in the title was not malicious. “I don’t see factual errors in the report,” he added. Barb Burg, Reuters spokeswoman, said: “We understand that the jury has stated its view and we now await the court’s ruling. We do not intend to comment further until a decision is issued.”
Iranian authorities regularly monitor and strongly limit the activities of foreign journalists in the country.
Reply