Iranian regime muzzles media with grim death penalty warning
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) intelligence organisation has issued a grim warning that 'cooperation with the Mossad will result in the maximum legal punishment', effectively issuing a death penalty for communications seen as favouring Israel's attacks on Iran.
In a statement shared on social media Telegram earlier today the Revolutionary Guards cited articles 6, 7, 8, and 10 of the 'Law on Combating Hostile Actions of the Zionist Regime'.
'Any form of intelligence cooperation with the Mossad, interaction or exchange of information with official or unofficial individuals affiliated with the Zionist regime, as well as any cultural, media, or propaganda activity, or assistance that supports, promotes, or legitimizes the Zionist regime, is considered a criminal offence,' under these articles, according to the statement, which adds that any perpetrators will face 'the maximum punishment'.
Babak Kamiar, the head of Euronews' Persian desk, said that the impact of this will be to force local media into silence.
The maximum punishment indicated in the sentence is 'the death penalty for sure', according to Kamiar.
'From this point on, nothing will be published except praise for the regime — which, of course, was to be expected,' Kamiar said.
'This will also include international media outlets that have correspondents in Iran, making our work even more difficult, as most of our information relied on domestic sources,' Kamiar added.
Although state-run, semi-official, and IRGC-affiliated media had already maintained tight control over the flow of information, the situation is now expected to worsen, according to Euronews' Kamiar.
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