Iranian lawmakers have approved a bill criminalising unauthorised contact with foreign media, threatening ordinary citizens, researchers and journalists with prison for speaking to international outlets. Sharing a photograph or Instagram post with an international audience could carry a jail sentence.
The bill was approved by Iran's parliament on 16 August, with offenders facing up to two years in prison. It comes weeks after a veteran Iranian photojournalist was sentenced to 15 years in prison in Tehran for documenting the US-Israeli war, a case rights groups say shows exactly what the new law would formalise nationwide.
