TEHRAN -- The American social media platform Twitter has suspended the account of Press TV’s host and producer Marzieh Hashemi in yet another crackdown on freedom of speech.
A message by the platform read that Hashemi’s account was “permanently suspended” due to breaking the Twitter rules.
“Your account is permanently in read-only mode, which means you can’t Tweet, Retweet or Like content,” the message said.
According to the message, Hashemi has also been banned from creating any new accounts on the platform.
Hashemi is the host and producer of Press TV’s Hidden Files Program. Her last tweet before suspension was about the long history of execution of human rights activists and opposition figures in Saudi Arabia. The topic was discussed in depth during the latest episode of the Hidden Files program.
Over the past years, the United States has, for several times, taken similar measures against Iranian media outlets, especially Press TV, whose accounts on Twitter, Instagram, and Google-owned services have been targeted.
Although American social networking services are apt to silence Iranian media under the guise of “regulation breaches,” they give anti-Muslim hate groups and Iranophobes a free hand under the guise of “freedom of speech” in a clear double standard.
American photo and video sharing social networking service Instagram in October suspended Press TV’s account in yet another attack by US-based social media giants on Iranian media outlets.
The websites of Iran’s Arabic-language Al Alam television news network, Yemen’s Al-Masirah TV channel, and Bahrain’s Lualua television network were also among the targeted outlets.
Following the seizure, Press TV announced that its website was available through its .ir domain.