Foreign Office Minister condemns Iranian harassment of BBC staff
Foreign Office Minister Alistair Burt said that such deplorable tactics illustrate the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, and the desperation of the regime to silence any independent voices.
Speaking today he said:
"”I utterly condemn recent reports of Iranian officials harassing families of staff working at the BBC’s Persian service. The Iranian authorities have a shameful track record of using family members to put pressure on Iranian lawyers, journalists and human rights activists. Such deplorable tactics illustrate again the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran, and the desperation of the Iranian regime to silence any independent voices. This comes against the backdrop of intensified jamming of BBC Persian, and other international Persian language satellite broadcasts. The international community has repeatedly called on the Iranian authorities to cease harassment and intimidation of journalists and to prevent illegal jamming of broadcasts. We will continue to do so.”