BBC Persian journalists say Iran monitoring them and targeting their families

"One journalist, who spoke anonymously out of fear that being named would place more pressure on my family, said their father had been detained and warned by security forces that they were monitoring overseas journalists. They knew everything about me somehow, the journalist said. They said they know where I live. They even gave my father the address, the telephone number, where I'm sitting exactly in the newsroom."

"Staff working for BBC Persian, which reaches 30 million people a week, said the pressure had continued following the unrest that led to tens of thousands of deaths. There are calls for an independent inquiry into the number of people killed. Journalists have been told they remain targets for the Iranian security services, despite being on UK soil. Some are taking extra security measures after receiving credible death and kidnapping threats."

Exiled journalists working for the BBC and BBC Persian report state monitoring, interrogations and persecution of their relatives in Iran. Family members face threats of arrest and asset seizure unless reporting stops, and some relatives have been detained. Security forces have warned families that they know where and when journalists work and even identified exact newsroom locations. Pressure has persisted after unrest that led to tens of thousands of deaths, prompting calls for an independent inquiry. Journalists in the UK have received credible death and kidnapping threats, taken extra security measures, and some have quit due to financial pressure on relatives.

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