BBC’s Statement on Recent Events
Following the release of private conversations of Rana Rahimpour, a BBC employee, the broadcaster issued a statement supporting all BBC Persian journalists, declaring that 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 becoming the target of attacks by some media and a group of social media users.
Rana Rahimpour says 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, referring to years of harassment of BBC Persian staff and their families, noted that these incidents have recently intensified, culminating in a blatant invasion of privacy with the illegal recording and publication of a personal conversation between a BBC journalist and her family.
The statement mentions that some are now attempting to exploit this issue to discredit BBC journalism and are attacking our journalists. The statement adds, ‘We stand by all BBC Persian journalists and support their reporting. We do not tolerate harassment from any source.’ The BBC also emphasized in this statement that it is an independent media outlet and does not take a stance on events in Iran, merely reporting on them.
The BBC adds that private conversations of BBC journalists with their families are unrelated to our news work. It is still unclear how the audio file of Rana Rahimpour’s conversations with her family in Iran reached some media outlets.