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Will you shut down Press TV already?

  • Posted by Maryam Namazie
  • On November 10, 2011
  • 14 Comments
  • Iran, Lauren Booth, Ofcom, Press TV

In June this year, I spoke on yet another panel on Islam. One of the other panellists was Lauren Booth (former British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s sister-in-law who has become a Muslim – err I mean Islamist).

The debate has already been posted on my blog here. However, I just came across a short clip of the debate where she is criticised for working for Press TV, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s mouthpiece. [By the way, Press TV is located in London and is an English-language station of the regime.]

Here’s the clip:

As I said in the clip, Press TV is an arm of the regime’s intelligence service – it’s not press in any way shape or form. The press is banned in Iran unless it is run and approved by the state and even then many outlets are banned for transgressing rules.

The evidence on Press TV’s collaboration with the regime is shocking. In one case, they filmed a Newsweek journalist imprisoned in Tehran’s Evin prison reading a forced ‘confession’ and knew it was forced. Bahari, who was freed after 118 days, was arrested while covering the 2009 protests in Iran and was told he would be executed if he did not confess.

Also Press TV ‘interviewed’ Iran stoning case Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani on a number of occassions and a ‘reporter’ was even heard ordering her to confess under duress.

It seems that Ofcom (the communications sector regulator) is now looking into Press TV.

About time! Shut it down already!

As an aside, I have been called to do interviews with Press TV on a number of occassions. Of course I have always refused and given them a piece of my mind. The regime would kill me a hundred times for the things I have said and done if it could get its grubby paws on me and its path is strewn with the bodies of the innumerable murdered for speaking or living 21st century lives…

If Press TV is shut down, it will be a victory for the people of Iran. Another plus of course would be that Lauren Booth and former MP George Galloway (who are so enamoured with Ahmadinejad, they needs to work for him) will lose their paycheques. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about Ken Livingstone, the former Mayor of London, as he stopped presenting his show for Press TV in March but I guess you can’t win them all.

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14 Comments

Fereshteh
Press TV people were VERY NICE to me... however it is RIDICULOUS how the Irani dolat apparently DOES NOT KEEP PROMISES to actually pay people who work for them. That is a BIG MISTAKE... The Iranian government should do what is right if they expect dual nationals like me to respect them. If they betrayed me or continue to do so in general, well guess what happens... It’s called choosing allegiances to those who CARE ... and the Iranian dolat had their chance and opportunity... and Basijis held me hostage along with their pervert spy who fell in love with me... So guess what? I will tell the Americans EVERYTHING i know unless and until they do RIGHT BY ME. Mobaarakeh and I’m waiting for them to return my money they stole from me. So more power to Maryam Namazie. Irani government is just a collection of people, just human beings, and they’ve been hurting and neglecting the Iranian people apparently and I regret ever trying to give them the benefit of the doubt and now I understand more why there are so many other Iranians in the diaspora worldwide that you’re trying to save the Iranian people from the corrupt hijackers currently in power. They just made enemy number 1 by hurting me when I gave them no reason to. I don’t appreciate being stolen from, and the Iranian government better find a way inside America to return ALL of MY money they stole from me. Or all the secrets their pervert Basiji spy told me is going to the Americans. At least they never held me hostage, although they’re not exactly angels either. Irani VAJA... go ahead and have lunch with 2 Iranian natives that are your coworkers and American double agents, and that’s what you get for screwing me over.
Fereshteh
Press TV people were VERY NICE to me... however it is RIDICULOUS how the Irani dolat apparently DOES NOT KEEP PROMISES to actually pay people who work for them. That is a BIG MISTAKE... The Iranian government should do what is right if they expect dual nationals like me to respect them. If they betrayed me or continue to do so in general, well guess what happens... It’s called choosing allegiances to those who CARE ... and the Iranian dolat had their chance and opportunity... and Basijis held me hostage along with their pervert spy who fell in love with me... So guess what? I will tell the Americans EVERYTHING i know unless and until they do RIGHT BY ME. Mobaarakeh and I’m waiting for them to return my money they stole from me. So more power to Maryam Namazie. The Runyon government is just a collection of people, just human beings, and they’ve been hurting the running people in our country and I regret ever trying to give them the benefit of the doubt and now I understand more why there are so many other Iranians in the diaspora worldwide that you’re trying to save the running people from the correct hijackers currently in power. They just made enemy number one by hurting me when I gave them no reason to. I don’t appreciate being stolen from, and the Iranian government better find a way inside America to return the money they stole from me. Or all the secrets their pervert Basiji spy told me is going to the Americans. At least they never held me hostage, although they’re not exactly angels either. Irani VAJA... go ahead and have lunch with 2 Iranian natives that are your coworkers and American double agents, and that’s what you get for screwing me over.
Ahmad Hesam
Maryam love, they are right, today's time you can not press or CNN, I trust I have also satilite hore what to say thank her nice schreibendu art our senbol, a flower uberal dir.
Mohammad Reza Ghodrat
Hello to all, to Maryam Namazie You have absolutely no idea of what your talking about. have you even ever watched bbc - cnn and all the other western media outlets? it is a total mind controlling system of the the top shelf. And it seems that you are also taken by it. rgds, Mohammad Reza Ghodrat
    Maryam Namazie
    That is the job of the media to manufacture consent for the ruling class. Press TV does it for the IRI and CNN for the US administration albeit there are still differences to their reporting. Press TV has had a hand in coercing confessions and promoting the regime's 'truths' or better lies. How anyone can defend it is beyond me.
gabby
hi just thanks for that i have been a little confused because recently I have to say Press TV coverage has been great Any chance that GG has helped to bring all around in the end we want to end all wars so if regimes can be brought to meet in the middle ground of tolerance and fair play??? It is incredible that we have to go to foreign channel to get the news Perhaps the thought "God has no Religion" sums it all up The news today has been so mind blowing - Obama in Oz withdrawing from Israel Jordan and Istael to take on Syria - Together? Chine economy about to crash Portuguese + Greek + Irish Debt + Spanish or was it Italian debt = wipe out of eu banks 2012 rolls on Could it all have the peaceful end we dream of God clearly is willing
d
What do you mean "shut down"? Who should shut it down, where? Obviously Iran is not going to do that, so who are you talking to?
Riley
While presstv is vile it shouldn't be shut down, because it shows the key differences if someone in Iran tried setting up a secular tv station they would get a rope necktie.
Great American Satan
OK, watched the video. What Almulhida said. Seconded. On "some hours alone to check out every blog entry from the first" I didn't realize how deep the archives were - only heard about the blog recently from Pharyngula. I'll never get through all those posts, but I do think I'll be combing them for videos particularly. Excellent!
Roger
Ms Booth had read to page 60in the quran (version/edition/translation unspecified) and became a muslim. Do you know if she's got to page 61 yet?
Almulhida
Owned. That is all.
Great American Satan
On the new blog: "Nothing is Sacred" is pretty much my life philosophy (featured prominently on a painting I did in high school, though without the "is"), and Maryam Namazie is pretty much my favorite Persian. I hope I get some hours alone to check out every blog entry from the first, but... On this Entry: I can't even connect enough time to watch this video right now. Ugh. Still, expect to see more kudos from the Great American Satan when I get a chance. <3
fatpie42
Lauren's interruption is priceless. "Um.. excuse me, is exposing my blatant lies really relevant to the current discussion?" Lol. I would wonder what her later response was, except that she pretty much had two choices. She either would have to admit that what she said earlier was wrong or (as I suspect was more likely) she'd have to deny everything you said outright. Either way, she'd have looked pretty daft. (Or did she just decide to try to leave that subject entirely and hope we'd all forget about it?)

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