Iranians split over proposed law to criminalize contact with foreign media

A woman walks through Tehran's Grand Bazaar in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 25. Vahid Salemi/AP Iranian politicians are divided over a move by the country’s parliament to approve a bill that would criminalize communications with media outlets deemed hostile to the Islamic Republic. The bill is yet to become law, with some Iranian members of parliament raising concerns that the wording is too broad and could affect essential activities. Moein Khazaeli, one Iranian human rights lawyer, warned that it could amount to “a fresh legal catastrophe.” Iranian state news agency IRNA reported earlier this month that politicians were split over bill. Before the parliament vote this month, Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said he believed the bill was aimed at creating “transparency in channels of communication with foreigners.” But others said the bill would not solve the problem of foreign interference. Gholamhossein Karbaschi, a reformist political figure, said: “The problem begins when we assume that the main route of infiltration is simply journalists, interviews or foreign media, and that restricting these areas can solve a significant part of the problem.” Iran has, however, proceeded to prosecute individuals who were in contact with foreign media under other national security and espionage laws, raising questions about what legal gap the new bill is intended to fill. Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moaiery, whose stories and photographs have appeared around the world, has herself become a target. She was sentenced to 15 years in prison earlier this month by an Iranian court with “activities in furtherance of the interest of the Zionist regime against national security.” She hopes to appeal the decision. Moaiery appeared on CNN in February and this month. She provided a rare eyewitness account from inside Iran, even as the regime attempted to block communications with the outside world.