By Kevin Kim
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
TEHRAN, Iran – A British journalist has been expelled from Iran after the government refused to renew his visa and resident permit.
Robert Tait, 43, was the Guardian’s Tehran correspondent for three years until the authorities inexplicably declined to renew his papers. Iran’s culture and Islamic guidance ministry gave no reason for its decision but said the newspaper was free to propose a new correspondent in Iran.
The Guardian report said that Tait was originally ordered to leave the country in March because officials were unhappy with his reporting. But he was allowed to stay after the Guardian successfully appealed against the March decision.
He is the second British journalist to be expelled from Iran in the past six months, and the last British journalist who worked in Iran for an English language newspaper. In July, a journalist working for a different publication was also “expelled” when his documentation was not renewed. Other newspapers mainly employ English-speaking Iranians because foreign nationals have difficulties in obtaining resident press credentials. But even for those who receive necessary documentation, they often face expulsion.
The expulsion comes amid a steep decline of press freedom in Iran. Newspapers and websites critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hard-line policies have been shut down over the past year. Other publications have begun to self-censor for fear of crossing officially decreed “red-lines.” Moreover, several Iranian journalists have been arrested in recent months for various crimes, including publication of “lies.”
The Guardian’s editor appealed to the ministry to no avail. The ministry denies expulsion claims raised by rights groups and diplomats. The authorities also deny recent crackdown on dissenting voices and say that they allow free speech.
Tait is now back in the UK, along with his Iranian wife.
For more information, please see:
Press TV – Iran denies expelling British journalist – 6 January 2008
Guardian Unlimited – Guardian’s Tehran correspondent expelled without explanation – 5 January 2008
Reuters – Guardian journalist forced to stop working in Iran – 5 January 2008
Gulfnews – British journalist ‘expelled’ from Iran – 5 January 2008
