An international media rights group has described Iran’s disputed presidential election as one of the most dangerous stories for journalists to cover in 2009.

The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said the June election and the protests that followed “prompted a horrifying wave of repression against the media.”

It also said it was concerned at the “mass exodus” this year of journalists from repressive countries such as Iran.

The group also said journalists and human rights defenders in Russia’s North Caucasus “went through a terrifying year.”