Round table on Iran: reporting under a news blackout

Round table on Iran: reporting under a news blackout

How can one report on what is happening in a country where simply speaking to the foreign press can cost one one’s freedom, or even one’s life? Ranked among the very lowest in the World Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders, Iran imposes a permanent news blackout, systematic surveillance and unrelenting repression on those who attempt to report on the country – journalists, photographers and correspondents alike.
Three voices from within the country and from exile will bear witness to this work of reporting under duress:
Maryam Rahmanian, a photojournalist whose lens seeks to capture the complexity of a society of 93 million people torn by conflicting emotions, far removed from the static images often projected onto Iran.
Ahmad Halabisaz, a photographer honoured at the 2023 World Press Photo awards, who was arrested in Tehran in 2022 following the death of Mahsa Amini and is now in exile, continues to document his country from beyond its borders.
Mariam Pirzadeh, editor-in-chief at France 24 and former correspondent in Tehran (2014–2019), coordinated from Paris the team that managed, despite a total internet blackout, to document the crackdown of January 2026.

Maryam Rahmanian will be travelling to Bayeux especially for this round-table discussion, moderated by Julie Dungelhoeff, senior correspondent at France 24.

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