BBC’s Statement Regarding Recent Events
Following the release of private conversations of Rana Rahimpour, a BBC employee, the media outlet issued a statement supporting all BBC Persian journalists and declared it will not tolerate harassment of its staff from any source.
Recently, the release of private conversations between Ms. Rahimpour and her mother in Iran has led to her being targeted by some media outlets and a group of social media users.
Rana Rahimpour states that this audio file, which was illegally and unethically recorded and broadcast, has been edited and distorted, and its content does not reflect her views or the editorial policy of her media outlet.
The BBC statement mentions years of harassment of BBC Persian staff and their families, noting that these actions have recently intensified, culminating in a blatant invasion of privacy with the illegal recording and release of a personal call between a BBC journalist and her family.
The statement notes that some are now attempting to exploit this issue to discredit BBC journalism and are attacking our journalists. It adds, ‘We stand by all BBC Persian journalists and support their journalism. We will not tolerate harassment from any source.’ The BBC also emphasized in this statement that it is an independent media outlet and does not take positions on events in Iran, only reporting on them.
The BBC adds that the private conversations of BBC journalists with their families have no connection to our news work. It remains unclear how the audio file of Rana Rahimpour’s conversations with her family in Iran reached some media outlets.