Iranian journalist and activist Niloofar Hamedi was arrested in September for writing a story which broke the news of Masha Amini’s death. Her house was raided and searched by Iranian authorities, and then placed in solitary confinement.
Several other journalists have been arrested in Iran this year amongst protests occurring there. There have also been claims that the Iranian government has threatened Iranian journalists working abroad.
This year alone at least forty-two journalists and media workers have been killed.
This kind of punishment for journalism is designed to silence protest, and it works. The right to free speech is not granted worldwide and this prevents the public from knowing the truth. When the only way to challenge this is for journalists to risk their freedom, and often their lives, it can certainly be considered a war.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, this year alone at least forty-two journalists and media workers have been killed. Whilst this is often only seen as a problem in other nations, it is dangerous for the British public to distance themselves from this issue.
Although there is much more freedom of press in the UK, this does not mean that journalists cannot end up in danger. Just this month, three journalists were arrested for covering a Just Stop Oil protest on the M25, despite showing police their press cards.
This sets a sinister precedent that journalists can be arrested for simply covering controversial stories. Though we are far from journalists being killed in the UK, these kinds of arrests still put free speech in danger.
The safety of journalists is a worldwide issue. Journalists constantly put themselves in danger reporting events all over the world, without the threat of prison, or even death. People like Niloofar Hamedi and countless others should be protected whilst doing their job, and we should all take the threat to their - and all of our- freedom seriously.
