Iran

Anthony Bellanger, general secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, told VOA that Iran is "a repressor of press freedom," and he urged foreign journalists to be " as cautious as possible" when traveling to countries such as Iran. Bellanger spoke Wednesday, the day Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was released from detention in Iran and returned to her home country.

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An Iranian official on Wednesday rejected accusations of judicial obstruction in the case of a Ukrainian passenger plane downed by Iran over Tehran five years ago. Critics and victims' families say Iran’s lack of transparency, frequent contradictions and repeated false claims have significantly undermined the credibility of their statements about the downing.

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