Ofcom fines Iranian broadcaster £100,000 over interview

Ofcom has fined the English language channel of Iran's Press TV £100,000 after it found significant breaches of its broadcasting code during an interview with a detained Newsweek journalist.

The interview, with Maziar Bahari, was filmed in 2009 and broadcast by Press TV in early July that year. In it Bahari said that he had sent footage of an attack on a Basij base in Tehran by supporters of unsuccessful Iranian presidential candidate Hossein Mousavi to Channel 4 News.

Lawyers acting on behalf of Bahari complained to Ofcom in July that the segment was unfair and contained an unwarranted infringement of his privacy.

Ofcom announced today that it had upheld the complaint, ruling that Bahari was under duress at the time of the interview and that Press TV had both omitted facts in such a way that presented the journalist adversely, had invaded his privacy, and not obtained his consent to air the footage.

In written represenations to the regulator, Press TV denied that there had been any invasion of privacy as Bahari "was a public figure and his detention was a matter of public knowledge".

The broadcaster also claimed that the footage did "not show him in a state of duress, and it was a statement that in no way cast Mr Bahari in a negative light nor had any negative consequences for him".

Ofcom had told Press TV in October that it was minded to take the channel off air, citing a breach in its licensing arrangement.

The regulator's licensing rules state that the licence holder must also be the person in substantial control of the editorial output of the channel, but a spokesperson for Ofcom said today that while Press TV's licence was held by London based Press TV Ltd., the channel was being effectively controlled by Tehran-based Press TV International.

Ofcom states that the warning over Press TV's license was unrelated to the controversy over the Bahari interview, and that it has given the channel's owners 35 days from today to change its structural arrangements or face further sanctions.

But Press TV claims in a statement issued today that the licensing issue is a "pretext", and called the decision to fine it £100,000 but not revoke its license "paradoxical".

"Independent analysts say Ofcom is under mounting pressure from the British royal family to silence Press TV's critical voice. The British royal family exercises an overarching power over all branches in the political system of the country, including the government and the parliament, as well as on Ofcom."

Press TV's statement also refers to a US embassy cable leaked by WikiLeaks earlier this year which followed attempts by Press TV to block the BBC Persian Service.

The cable, sent in February 2010, quotes a member of the Foreign Office stating that the UK government was "exploring ways to limit the operations of the Islamic Republic of Iran's Press TV service, which operates a large bureau (over 80 staff) in London".

The Foreign Office said in a statement today that it had been "concerned for some time by serious allegations that Press TV has been involved in broadcasting confessions obtained under duress", but the government had no involvement with Ofcom's decision-making process over Press TV.

"It is right and proper that these allegations should have been investigated by Ofcom, as the independent regulator of the UK communications industry. Press TV's actions that appear complicit in such human rights violations are unacceptable and reprehensible.

"It is a matter for Ofcom to decide what penalties should be imposed. The government is not part of that decision."

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