Washington, D.C., February 3, 2020 – Iranian authorities should immediately drop the false news and defamation charges against the editors of three news outlets, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Neither the court nor the news reports disclosed the names of the editors. Ahmad Momenirad, the spokesperson of Iran’s Media Court system, did not disclose any details surrounding the cases or the potential sentences the editors may receive, according to the Mizan report. “If the Iranian government has a credible case against the editors of ISNA, NeftEMA, and Bultannews, they should try them openly and publicly,” said Sherif Mansour, CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa program coordinator. Iran had 11 journalists in jail at the time of CPJ’s most recent prison census on December 1, 2019.

Source: The North Africa Journal February 03, 2020 21:45 UTC