PFUJ calls for end to Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists
November 02, 2025: PFUJ urges Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and ensure their safety and press freedom.
JournalismPakistan.com | Published 7 years ago
Join our WhatsApp channel
BRUSSELS- BBC Persian news presenter Negin Shiraghaei on Wednesday urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to help end the persecution of journalists and their families.
Journalists working at BBC Persian have been subjected to years of harassment and threats, and family members detained and banned from travelling. Women journalists have been subjected to a particularly abusive campaign of harassment. As many as 152 former and current BBC journalists face a criminal investigation and asset freeze in Iran.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), its UK affiliate the NUJ, the BBC and international human rights lawyers from Doughty Street Chambers launched a campaign last year to expose and tackle the abuse.
Campaigners addressed the United Nations today and tomorrow will hold a public event with the support of UN Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression David Kaye, drawing particular attention to the abuse faced by women journalists.
Speaking today on behalf of the IFJ, Ms Shiraghaei told the 38th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva: “I am one of the many women journalists who have been targeted with online bullying, harassment, hacking, phishing and surveillance."
"We have been targeted with fake news, alleging sexual misconduct and indecency that could amount to a crime in Iran, including in state-owned media. Our faces have been edited onto pornographic images which have been shared online and, in one instance, shared with the 14-year-old son of one female TV presenter. This online harassment of women journalists at the BBC is aimed at undermining our ability to exercise our freedom of speech – and must stop."
"Weaponising information against journalists is Iran’s strategic communication tactic. Fake accounts and blogs appear and disappear like mushrooms. Their aim is to manipulate public opinion about me and my colleagues at BBC Persian and undermine our right to free speech."
"We must stop this practice today or it will become the common practice for tomorrow – and not just in Iran. We ask members of the Council to call upon Iran to cease their persecution and harassment of journalists. Journalism is not a crime," she said.
The United Nations special rapporteur's report on Iran published in March noted the fear the persecution had instilled in Iranian journalists working in London and the threat it posed to media freedom and the right of citizens to access information.
IFJ Deputy General Secretary Jeremy Dear, who attended the meeting in Geneva said: "We salute the resolve of BBC Persian staff to continue to speak out against the persecution they face and call on Iran to halt this campaign of intimidation and censorship." – IFJ media release
November 02, 2025: PFUJ urges Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments to end Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and ensure their safety and press freedom.
November 02, 2025: Impunity for crimes against journalists deepens worldwide as Pakistan reports a 60 percent surge in attacks and weak enforcement of safety laws.
November 01, 2025: Pakistan Press Foundation reports 137 attacks on journalists in 2025, highlighting rising threats, legal harassment, and censorship on the International Day to End Impunity.
November 01, 2025: A viral Samaa TV clip featuring MNA Sher Afzal Marwat’s crude remarks and Talat Hussain’s laughter raises questions about the declining ethics of Pakistani television.
October 31, 2025: Police foiled a plot to kill DawnNewsTV journalist Tahir Naseer in Rawalpindi after arresting suspects hired for Rs200,000. Naseer says threats followed his reporting.
October 31, 2025: CPJ calls on Pakistan to bring Imtiaz Mir’s killers to justice after the journalist was allegedly murdered by a banned militant group in Karachi.
October 30, 2025: The PFUJ has condemned a fabricated drug case against journalist Matiullah Jan, calling it an attempt to silence him and urging authorities to quash the charges immediately.
October 30, 2025: NewsOne TV remains on air but faces mass layoffs and delayed salaries, exposing Pakistan’s worsening media crisis and financial instability.
November 02, 2025 Independent outlet All About Macau to halt print and online operations amid rising pressure, financial strain, and legal threats, sparking press freedom concerns in the city.
November 01, 2025 Belarus court jails journalist Siarhei Chabotska for extremism and defaming the president, highlighting Minsk’s ongoing crackdown on press freedom.
November 01, 2025 Mexican journalist Miguel Angel Beltran was found murdered in Durango. CPJ urges authorities to ensure justice amid rising violence against journalists in Mexico.
November 01, 2025 UNESCO survey finds one-third of media lawyers cannot effectively defend journalists due to threats, limited resources, and lack of specialization.
October 31, 2025 Radio Free Asia, a US government-funded broadcaster covering tightly controlled Asian media environments, has suspended all news operations after federal funding dried up.