Iran prosecutes journalists after BBC program about death of 16-year-old girl during protests

The Iranian authorities have charged “a number of journalists and activists” following reports from the BBC, the broadcaster itself reported. Documentary program BBC Eye devoted an episode to the death of 16-year-old protester Nika Shakarami at the hands of the authorities.

Source: BELGA

Today at 3:50 PM

The BBC reported on the death of the teenager, who disappeared in 2022 during an anti-government protest. That investigation revealed that she was a victim of sexual violence and was subsequently killed by three employees of the Iranian security services.

The Iranian agency Mizan, which is run by the Iranian judiciary, said the BBC reporting was “fake, inaccurate and full of errors”. That would have led to a “disruption of the psychological safety of society”. Earlier, Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi called the BBC reporting a premeditated plan by “enemies and their media”.

It is not clear exactly how many activists and journalists face prosecution, but two Iranian journalists who commented online on the report said prosecutors had opened a case against them.

One of them, Mohammad Parsi, wrote on

The second, Marzieh Mahmoodi, said that “neither the charges nor the details are known.”