THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Iran has arrested several people for supplying information to the British Broadcasting Corporation, accusing them of seeking to portray a negative image of the Islamic state, media reported on Monday.
Few western journalists are permitted to work in Iran where the government views much of the foreign media with suspicion. The BBC's Farsi-language TV news service is only available to owners of illegal satellite receivers and its signal is often jammed.
The newspaper Resalat said five men and one woman had been arrested, identifying them only by their initials. "They were members of a network which supplies information, produces films and clandestine reports for the BBC Persian programme, aimed at portraying a bleak picture of Iran," Resalat said.
The hardline daily Kayhan said a number of people had been arrested "in different places in the capital."
It quoted Revolutionary Guards spokesman Ramezan Sharif as saying: "The BBC tries to identify elements inside the country (who produce) particular cultural productions in order to use them against the Islamic establishment."
BBC Persian broadcasts live news, documentaries and entertainment programmes aimed at Farsi speakers, mostly in Iran and Afghanistan. Terrestrial Iranian television is completely controlled by the state. » | Monday, September 19, 2011
