Iranian guards kidnapped a news reporter's family members to make the journalist quit their job. The London news station Iran International said government forces took the reporter's mom, dad, and younger brother away from their home. Guards from Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps moved the family to a secret place where nobody could find them. The reporter works for a Persian-language TV channel that covers the war between Iran and Israel. Iranian leaders wanted to stop the journalist from reporting bad news about their country.
The kidnapped father called his daughter after the guards captured his family. Revolutionary Guard members made the dad say specific words during the phone call. He told his daughter to resign from her reporting job at the TV station. The guards forced him to ask what other bad things she expected to happen. They wanted to scare the reporter into leaving her job at the news company.
Iran tries to control reporters who work for foreign news companies from outside the country. Government forces often threaten family members who still live inside Iran. The Committee to Protect Journalists says Iran locks up more news workers than almost any other nation. Iranian officials make life hard for reporters both inside and outside their borders. They use fear tactics to stop people from sharing true stories about what happens there.
Iran International asked world human rights groups to condemn this family kidnapping. The TV station called the situation a hostage crisis that targets innocent people. They want press freedom organizations to take quick action to protect reporters and their relatives.
The kidnapped father called his daughter after the guards captured his family. Revolutionary Guard members made the dad say specific words during the phone call. He told his daughter to resign from her reporting job at the TV station. The guards forced him to ask what other bad things she expected to happen. They wanted to scare the reporter into leaving her job at the news company.
Iran tries to control reporters who work for foreign news companies from outside the country. Government forces often threaten family members who still live inside Iran. The Committee to Protect Journalists says Iran locks up more news workers than almost any other nation. Iranian officials make life hard for reporters both inside and outside their borders. They use fear tactics to stop people from sharing true stories about what happens there.
Iran International asked world human rights groups to condemn this family kidnapping. The TV station called the situation a hostage crisis that targets innocent people. They want press freedom organizations to take quick action to protect reporters and their relatives.
