By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell book
BBC - Honduras - CIA Trial book - NY Mag
GLASSHOUSE NYC, Nov 17 – Press freedom was celebrated by media titans and the likes of Wells Fargo, at Manhattan's Glasshouse on November 17. Inner City Press was there and live tweeted, thread here
OK - now Press Freedom awards, to hear awardees incl Sevgil Musaieva of #Ukraine, while the UN bans Press but lets in Iran IRIB, broadcasting forced confessions, here
Inner City Press will live tweet a bit, like court cases today.
First up is Sevgil Musaieva ofUkraine. She recounts: Grief faces because life wins out. Before I left Kiev, our office lost power. You ask yourself if you are more a Ukrainian citizen or a journalist... Maxsim Levin, killed... You want to keep the truth alive. (Streamed video here)
Next up is Abraham Jiménez Enoa of Cuba. His speech, in Spanish: For trying to show the reality, they treat you like a criminal ("un delicuente") - check out what the United Nations does, here
Next up, Pham Doan Trang, Vietnam - introduced by CNN correspondent approached by police while covering George Floyd protests (note: the UN does not allow protests on "its" land in Manhattan - and SG Antonio Guterres has celebrated VietNam Phan Doan Trang is in jail, so no speech.
CNN speaker says some have been released by VietNam. No thanks to UNSG Antonio Guterres or his equally censoring "human rights" chief Volkan Turk. Next up, Iran - does CPJ know the UN lets in IRIB, bans Inner City Press? Speakers now: Jason Rezaian, in a tux. Before being banned by the UN, Inner City Press interviewed his brother. But when does Jason say about IRIB in the UN, and UNCA? Questions, questions...
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting is known for filming forced confession, many of them with torture.
They also have a correspondent accredited by and allowed into the United Nations, Kamran Najafzadeh, a full dues-paying member as "Iran TV" of the UN Correspondents Association, which has given China a permanent board seat while working with the UN to ban independent Inner City Press which reports on it. Photo here
But the hypocrisy now spreads from the UN of Antonio Guterres and his UNCA to the US State Department and US Mission to the UN.
The State Department on November 16 issued a press release about "designating," presumably for sanctions, representatives of IRIB - but the State Department and its US Mission under Linda Thomas-Greenfield have done nothing about the IRIB representative in the UN and UNCA - which Thomas-Greenfield calls on first - nor on the UN's continuing ban of Inner City Press, despite this letter.
UNCA will be selling access to UNSG Antonio Guterres on December 9, charging diplomats and bribers hundreds of dollars for a garish event at Cipriani downtown with Kate Hudson and prizes to cronies, here. Who will attend IRIB's blood fest? Watch this site.
Here is the US State Department's November 16 press release: "The United States is designating six individuals for acting for or on behalf of the Iranian state-run media corporation, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). IRIB was previously sanctioned for its involvement in the Iranian government’s censorship activities.IRIB acts not as an objective media outlet but rather as a key tool in the Iranian government’s mass suppression and censorship campaign against its own people. IRIB has broadcasted forced confessions of Iranian, dual national, and foreign national detainees in Iran in attempts to distort facts and spread disinformation about the ongoing protests in Iran."
And IRIB is in the UNCA, and more importantly the UN, while Inner City Press is banned. We'll have more on this.
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