UN experts demand Iran ceases harassing Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Persian staff
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The UN experts call on governments in countries where Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú journalists live to protect them
UN human rights experts have demanded Iran cease harassing and intimidating journalists working for Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Persian and other Persian-language news outlets.
The journalists have endured death threats, criminal investigations, the freezing of assets and defamation.
Some relatives have been held in degrading conditions and ordered to tell family members to leave the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú.
The harassment reportedly intensified when the journalists covered the mass anti-government protests in November.
The unrest prompted a bloody crackdown by the security forces. Amnesty International said more than 300 people were shot dead, while a Reuters news agency report put the death toll at 1,500.
Iranian authorities dismissed those figures, but acknowledged killing some "rioters".
highlighted the case of a Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Persian TV presenter who has been the subject of death threats, allegedly by Iranian authorities.
Rana Rahimpour told the UN Human Rights Council on 9 March that she had received a written message saying that she, her children, her husband and her elderly parents would be assassinated within a month.
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The message also said that Ms Rahimpour would be the first employee of the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú to be killed, and that, after her assassination, it would be the turn of other Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Persian employees.
"These allegations are extremely concerning and if confirmed, would indicate that the Iranian authorities are prepared to use force extra-territorially, in violation of international law," the special rapporteurs said.
"Harassment, surveillance, death threats against journalists, within and outside domestic boundaries violate international human rights law, including the right to physical integrity, the right to life and the right to freedom of expression."
They added: "When these acts are conducted extra-territorially, as with Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Persian Services, these acts violate international law regulating the use of force in times of peace. These ultimately constitute serious threats to global security and thus demand strong reactions on the part of the governments of the countries where Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Persian Service journalists reside."
The special rapporteurs said the reactions included "implementing safeguards to protect the integrity of journalists, their families and their profession".
In a separate development, Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Director General Tony Hall issued an appeal to the new secretary of Iran's High Council for Human Rights, Ali Bagheri Kani, saying he hoped it could "open a new chapter in relations between the Iranian authorities and the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú".
"Two years ago we offered to talk directly with the Iranian government in a constructive way to find a new way forward. Mr Bagheri Kani could go some way to address the concerns of the international community if he is willing to accept this offer in a positive spirit, without conditions. I very much hope he does," he said.
Seamus Dooley, assistant general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, said: "The personal testimony of Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Persian journalists is shocking to hear."
"It is particularly shameful for the Iranian authorities to target journalists' children and elderly relatives," he added.