Communications satellite service provider Intelsat has announced it will take Iranian channels off the air as of next week as the West's campaign against free speech intensifies.
In a letter to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the Luxembourg-based company cited the illegal US sanctions against the IRIB president as the main reason behind its decision.

The 24-hour English-language news channel Press TV and Iran's Spanish-language channel Hispan TV are among the channels to be banned from July 1.

Press TV and other Iranian channels have come under an unprecedented wave of attacks by European governments and satellite companies since January 2012.

European companies say they are �abiding by� the anti-Iran sanctions. However, the spokesman for the EU foreign policy chief, Michael Mann, has told Press TV that the sanctions do not apply to Iranian media.

In the meantime, the French-Israeli CEO of Europe's satellite giant, Eutelsat, has written letters to several satellite companies, asking them to stop cooperating with Iranian channels.

The Israeli lobby in the United States has also publicly supported European attempts to ban Iranian channels.

Press TV says the campaign against Iranian media violates Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that promotes media freedoms.

By Press TV

 

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