Iran media outlets, academics sign a letter to UN chief & world bodies’ figures to condemn Israel's attack on Gaza journalists

Tehran (Qodsna)- Here is the full text of the letter:

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Your Excellencies:

Mr. António Guterres, Honorable Secretary-General of the United Nations 

Ms. Audrey Azoulay, Honorable Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) 

Mr. Karim Khan, Honorable Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court 

Mr. Alice Mogwe, Honorable President of the International Federation for Human Rights 

Mr. Anthony Bellanger, Honorable Secretary-General of the International Federation of Journalists 

Ms. Agnès Callamard, Honorable Secretary-General of Amnesty International 

Mr. Thibault Breteau, Honorable Director-General of Reporters Without Borders 

Mr. Jeffrey Gettleman, Chairman of the Board of the Committee to Protect Journalists 

Mr. Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights 

Ms. Victoria Dawley Guachí, United Nations Human Rights Council 

International Organizations and Institutions Defending Human Rights and Media Freedom

Greetings and salutations to you and to all the people of the world,

We, a group of scholars, professors, academic faculty members, and media and news professionals in Iran, hold respect for media practitioners and the profession of journalism as a universally accepted principle among all human societies, where even in times of war, media actors and journalists are not targeted and are free to carry out their profession.

We, the undersigned of this letter, with hearts full of sorrow and anger, strongly condemn in the strongest terms the brutal and inhumane crime committed by the Zionist regime in setting fire to the tents of Palestinian journalists, which tragically led to the martyrdom of three brave Palestinian reporters.

In the early hours of Monday, April 7, 2025 (18 Farvardin 1404), the Zionist occupying forces launched a deliberate and planned attack on the location of journalists near Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis city, setting their media tents ablaze. In this horrific crime, martyr Ahmed Mansour, a reporter for the Palestine Today news outlet, was horrifically burned alive in front of cameras. Additionally, martyr Hilmi Al-Faqaawi and martyr Youssef Al-Khazandar lost their lives, and several other journalists, including Hassan Aslih, Ahmed Agha, Muhammad Faiq, Ihab Bardini, Mahmoud Awad, Ali Aslih, Majid Qudaih, and Abdullah Attar, were severely injured.

This tragedy is merely another link in the chain of systematic killings of media professionals by a regime that, since October 2023, has martyred at least 210 Palestinian journalists. The deliberate targeting of journalists is a blatant violation of international conventions and fundamental human rights principles and constitutes a clear war crime and an attempt to silence the voice of truth and conceal the extent of human tragedies in Gaza.

We, honoring the memory of the victims of this catastrophe, especially martyr Ahmed Mansour, who until his last moment narrated the resistance and suffering of the besieged people of Gaza, declare that silence in the face of this crime is complicity. The global community’s delay in taking practical action has emboldened the Zionist regime to continue the killing of journalists, ethnic cleansing, and media suppression. We emphasize that this crime is a historic disgrace for the claimants of human rights and a stain on the foreheads of deceitful organizations and their accomplices, including the United States and the occupying regime.

We urgently call upon all international bodies and human rights organizations to impose immediate and comprehensive sanctions against the occupying regime of Jerusalem and to initiate independent international investigations into war crimes against Palestinian journalists without delay. Furthermore, the criminal cases against the leaders of the Zionist regime, for crimes such as the immolation of journalists, must be referred once again to the International Criminal Court. Alongside these measures, legal, medical, and financial support for the families of the martyred media workers and injured journalists must be prioritized to provide at least some relief for this oppressed group.

We believe that the innocent blood of the martyred journalists is a beacon that illuminates the path of truth and places a heavy responsibility on the shoulders of the free people of the world. It is hoped that with the immediate, decisive, and responsible action of the international community, the crimes of this regime will be halted and the path to justice for the oppressed Palestinian nation will be paved.

Date: April 19, 2025 / 30 Farvardin 1404 / 20 Shawwal 1446

Signatories:

Academic and Media Institutions (in alphabetical order): 

- Scientific Association of Communications, Baqir al-Uloom University 

- Scientific Association of Media, Baqir al-Uloom University 

- Scientific Association of Political Science, Baqir al-Uloom University 

- Strategic Think Tank Zamaneh 

- Iranian Narrative Think Tank 

- Content Production Laboratory, Qom University 

- Jahan News Agency 

- Islamic Humanities Research Institute, Qom University 

- International Organization of Women Civilization Builders 

- Palestinian Nation Defense Society 

- Qom Press House 

- Rasa News Agency 

- Quds News Agency (Qodsna) 

- Faculty of Religion and Media 

- Farhikhtegan Newspaper 

- Martyr Andarzgoo Media Center 

- Sarv Media Group 

- Women and Family Steering Committee 

- Khaymeh Monthly Magazine 

- Supreme Assembly of Islamic Humanities 

- Sadra Islamic Humanities Research Center 

- Ravayat Hodna Media Institute 

- Balad Al-Amin Cultural and Media Institute 

- Nasl Salman Media Institute 

- Sallam Website

Academic Figures (in alphabetical order): 

- Dr. Ahmad Rehdar, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Baqir al-Uloom University 

- Dr. Ahmad Koohi Esfahani, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Family Sciences, University of Tehran 

- Dr. Zahra Sadat Mirjafari, PhD in Women and Family Studies 

- Dr. Seyed Morteza Esmaeili Taba, Faculty Member, Media Management Group, University of Religions and Denominations 

- Dr. Abdolkarim Khiami, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Religion and Communications, Imam Sadiq University 

- Dr. Abdullah Ganji, PhD in Political Science and Media Advisor to the Tehran Mayor 

- Dr. Ali Asghar Eslamitanha, Assistant Professor, Cultural Studies and Communications Group, Baqir al-Uloom University 

- Dr. Gholamali Masoumi Nia, Associate Professor, Department of Islamic Economics and Banking, Kharazmi University 

- Dr. Karim Khanmohammadi, Associate Professor, Cultural Studies and Communications Group, Baqir al-Uloom University 

- Dr. Kamal Akbari, Associate Professor, Culture and Communications Department, Faculty of Religion and Media 

- Dr. Mahmoud Kabiri Yeganeh, PhD in Media Management 

- Dr. Masoumeh Zahiri, Professor of Women and Family Studies 

- Dr. Mehdi Kowsari, PhD in Media Management 

- Dr. Nematollah Karamollahi, Associate Professor, Department of Social Sciences, Baqir al-Uloom University