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RFL/RE – Tehran’s prosecutor has filed charges against the Jahan Sanat newspaper after it published a report on the increasing trade of body parts in Iran due to the deteriorating economic conditions hitting households across the country.
The Judiciary Media Center on May 9 cited the reason for the charges as the newspaper’s failure to provide evidence and documentation regarding the “fabricated news” of increased body part sales.
The managing editor of Jahan Sanat said he was summoned on May 7 to provide the necessary documentation for the reporting and to explain the claims published in the report to judicial authorities. The Islamic republic’s judicial system announced afterward that the case against the newspaper is currently under review.SEE ALSO:The Farda Briefing: Poor Iranians Sell Their Organs Amid Deepening Economic Crisis
The Jahan Sanat report, published on May 5, detailed a sharp increase in the buying and selling of body parts in Iran, attributing it to citizens falling into the abyss of poverty. RFE/RL has not independently verified the report in the newspaper.
It mentioned a street near Valiasr Square in Tehran, which runs opposite the Justice Palace, that it said has become a “human kidney market” in recent years as people wishing to buy or sell kidneys consult ads posted on the street’s walls.
According to the Health Ministry’s statistics, there were 420 cases of kidney transplants from living donors in Iran in 2020.
The growing poverty and an economic crisis in Iran have forced low-income groups to seek unconventional ways to make money. There have been numerous reports in Iranian media about the sale of kidneys, blood plasma, and body parts. Recently, reports emerged about young girls and women selling their hair to beauty salons for extra income.
Iranian domestic media have published reports about the deepening economic crisis in recent months. However, the Islamic republic has consistently tried to prevent domestic Iranian media from publishing such stories.
Iran’s ranking in terms of freedom of expression remains low, with Reporters Without Borders placing the country 177th out of 180 countries in its latest annual report on press freedom around the world.
