Jila Baniyaghoob, a journalist and women’s rights activist, said she was interrogated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Intelligence for two hours on Monday.
According to her post on X, the questioning primarily focused on her social media activities.
She is one of several journalists who have been banned from working by the Islamic Republic due to their reporting.
Baniyaghoob said she asked the IRGC Intelligence forces, “Haven’t I been under the Ministry of Intelligence’s supervision for years and answered their questions there? Why are you getting involved now?”
She has been repeatedly summoned and interrogated over at least the past twenty years.
She was the editor of the Iranian Women’s Center website and the social affairs editor of Sarmayeh newspaper. In 2009, she won the “Courage in Journalism” award, and a year later, received Reporters Without Borders’ “Freedom of Expression” award.
She was arrested in June 2009 and sentenced to one year in prison and a 30-year ban from journalism.
Regarding her interrogation by IRGC Intelligence, Baniyaghoob referenced her twenty-year history of case-building by the Ministry of Intelligence, saying that when she was held in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, she would respond to interrogation questions by writing, “Refer to my previous files in the Ministry of Intelligence archives.”
However, now the IRGC Intelligence security agency is building a parallel case against her alongside the Ministry of Intelligence’s security apparatus.
According to Baniyaghoob, the new case lacks any evidence or documentation.
Earlier this month, the journalist reported that security forces had raided her home. She wrote on X that more than ten security agents entered her house under the pretext of “a letter from the post office” and searched her home.
The security forces confiscated personal belongings of the journalist and her husband, Bahman Ahmadi, an economic journalist, including their mobile phones and laptops.
Following the house search by security forces, Baniyaghoob was summoned to the investigative branch of the Evin prosecutor’s office, where she was told that “the case is not yet complete and the interrogator is working on it.”
She said, “Without having any evidence, they first open a case, then raid and seize laptops and phones… searching for evidence to build the case.”
She added, “I don’t even know what I’m charged with.”
She wrote, “Do you know what’s wrong with this parallel work besides wasting the country’s energy and budget? We spent hours answering questions from the anonymous brothers of Intelligence, now we have to tell the story from the beginning for the anonymous brothers of IRGC.
“Believe me, the anonymous brothers of Intelligence have monitored my life since childhood, and I’ve been arrested and interrogated many times.
“Our time has no value at all. Does your own time have no value to you either? Yesterday, I answered questions that I had already answered many times before to Intelligence interrogators. Thank God, they also don’t ask a question just once – they ask repeatedly.
“Why should I answer for the twentieth time about a report I wrote twenty years ago?”
She also said that it’s unlikely the Ministry of Intelligence would share her files with the IRGC Intelligence Organization, which is a parallel security institution.
The Islamic Republic’s system of media control remains active, as evidenced by Baniyaghoob’s case and ongoing security pressure on journalists.
Despite increasing threats and intimidation attempts, journalists persist in their mission of public information and awareness.
Last month, security forces raided journalist Pezhman Mousavi’s home, confiscating his personal belongings, including his mobile phone.
According to IranWire sources, authorities have also blocked SIM cards and bank accounts belonging to several journalists and civil activists.
At least 20 female journalists and media activists in Iran have either been summoned or arrested by security institutions.
The authorities have expanded their tactics to include cyber operations, attempting to access journalists’ and activists’ information to build cases against them.
Source » iranwire