In the middle of the mayhem that Gaza is these days, Khader Shahin, a Palestinian reporter (with an Israeli birth certificate) who was reporting for Iran’s Al Alam network was arrested by the Israeli ground forces who “accused Shahin of breaking a martial order about limited media coverage regarding the beginning of Israel Ground Operation in Gaza.”
Regardless of why this reporter was arrested and whether or not the Israeli forces had a legitimate right to arrest him, I find Islamic Republic of Iran’s reaction to the event amusing. Here’s a government that has systematically gagged and banned its newspapers and reporters, keeping them from fair and appropriate news generation and propagation for three decades, most of it during peace time, mind you. It has followed, censored, imprisoned and tortured its newspaper men and women as a routine practice during all the years it has been in power. A whole division of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance is in place to implement IRI’s censorship rules and regulations, down to whether newspapers that are not close to power groups should receive subsidized paper for their publications.
Upon arrest of Mr. Shahin, IRI authorities have raised their voices in defense of a journalist’s mission, protesting his arrest which they call a clear violation of principles of freedom of the press, filing a complaint with UNESCO to demand Mr. Shahin’s immediate release. No problem. I think Mr. Shahin should be released immediately. But so should all those Iranian journalists who are under immense pressure from IRI authorities to report what is really happening in Iran and in the rest of the world without fear of persecution.
Sources:
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=80796§ionid=351020202
http://radiofarda.com/Article/2009/01/09/F7_PressTV_Gaza_Attacked.html
http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&Do=&ID=34815
