Australia sanctions Iran’s Press TV in yet another affront to free speech

The Australian government has imposed a fresh round of sanctions on a number of Iranian individuals and entities, the latest attack spearheaded by the West against freedom of speech in Iran.

The Iranian entities sanctioned include the English-language Press TV news network, which came on the anniversary of foreign-backed riots in the country.

The Australian Foreign Ministry announced in a media release on Wednesday that the restrictive measures, including financial sanctions and travel bans, targeted four individuals and three entities over what it claimed was “human rights violations” in Iran.

Iran’s police spokesman General Saeed Montazer-al-Mahdi was among the sanctioned individuals, and the targeted entities include Iran’s Cyber Police and Tehran-based Press TV news channel.

Accusing the Islamic Republic of the “oppression of people” in country, the ministry said the sanctions, the first by the Australian government, were levied on the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman of Kurdish descent who died in police custody in the capital Tehran in September last year.

The 22-year-old died in a hospital in Tehran days after she was detained by police on September 15.

Despite clarification on the circumstances surrounding her death, protests erupted in the country, which later turned violent and led to attacks on security officers and acts of vandalism against public property as well as police vehicles and ambulances.

The Tehran-based English-language news network has repeatedly fallen victim to censorship on multiple fronts, including Twitter, Instagram, Google, and its services.

IRIB’s World Service in general, and Press TV in particular, has played a remarkable role as the counterweight to Western propagandist media for years, demolishing and debunking their lop-sided and unfair coverage of Iran and the region.

Press TV continues to challenge Western narratives and provide cutting-edge journalism based on truth and fairness.

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