Three IRIB employees killed as Israel attacks Iran’s state TV during live bulletin
Violence must stop, negotiations must end hostilities in Iran and Gaza” demands Blaise Lempen
Geneva, June 17 (PEC) – The Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) is very worried by Israel’s bombing of Iran’s state television channel while reporters were live on air. Iran’s state TV IRIB (Voice of the Islamic Republic of Iran) building in Tehran was on fire after the airstrike by Israel.
“Three IRIB employees were killed as a result of an attack by the Israeli regime on the building of a television and radio company,” the Iranian Fars news agency reported on June 17. News editor Nima Rajabpour and secretariat employee Masume Azimi died, other employees were wounded in the Israeli attack.
PEC reminds the belligerents that in any war around the world, attacking a media outlet is unjustifiable.
A news anchor – a woman identified by Iranian state media as Sahar Emami (photo web) – was speaking live on the air when an explosion shook the building, followed by the sound of breaking glass and screams, all carried live on television. The screen filled with smoke and debris as the anchor runs away.
An hour earlier, Israel had issued a warning the evacuate the area of Iran’s capital where the TV studios are located. Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, said that programming was “briefly halted” but “returned to normal” after a few minutes.
The Israeli military later said in a statement that its air force had struck the building to target a “communication center” that was being used by the Iranian military “under the guise of civilian activity.”
The Iranian state broadcaster has long been associated with the government’s repression of public life. Iran is one of the most repressive states in terms of press freedom.
«Nevertheless, despite this bad record, PEC reminds all belligerents that media facilities are civilian installations that should not be targeted, regardless of which camp the media belongs to. Such a deliberate attack could amount to a war crime”, the PEC President Blaise Lempen said in Geneva.
This Israeli strike against a media outlet comes as more than 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza with impunity by the Israeli army. “Violence must stop, negotiations must end hostilities in Iran and Gaza”, added Blaise Lempen.
Source: PEC