Press Freedom in Iran

The Iranian newspaper Shahrvand-e-Emrooz has been shut down after mocking President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's relationship with wise man Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei

The cover picture was a photoshopped to look like a 16th-century Persian miniature. The wise man is lecturing his companions who kneel dutifully in front of him.

All the characters are in fact modern-day Iranians. Indeed, the wise man is none other than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's confidant, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei. And in an obvious satire of the country's political leaders, it is Mashaei who counts the president among his obedient followers -- not the other way round.

The picture highlights the concerns among Iranian conservatives over Mashaei's growing political influence. Supporters of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, believe that Mashaei, whose daughter is married to the president's son, is attempting to undermine clerical power in Iran.

It is widely believed the picture was the reason behind the enforced closure of the magazine on Monda. Another publication, Roozegar, was also closed.

Iranian newspapers have been banned from publishing the names or photos of the leaders of Iran's green movement, according to a confidential governmental ruling revealed by an opposition website.

The ruling, issued by Iran's ministry of culture and Islamic guidance on 18 August, was stamped top secret and urgent . It was addressed to the editors of newspapers and news agencies in Iran, and bans them from publishing any news about the defeated presidential candidates in last summer's disputed election and current opposition leaders, Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, and the former reformist president, Mohammad Khatami.

The opposition website irangreenvoice.com has published a copy of the letter, which reads: Keeping the society and the public opinion calm is the main responsibility of the media. Security officials have considerations about publishing news, photos and speeches of Mr Mir Hossein Mousavi, Mehdi Karroubi and Mohammad Khatami, therefore according to the clause 2 of the article 5 of the press code publishing news, photos and reports about the these people are prohibited.

An Iranian journalist who works for a government paper, and asked not to be identified, told the Guardian: Soon after the election last year, those papers which insisted on publishing news or reports about the opposition leaders were all closed down , so after a while an unwritten ruling overshadowed the media in Iran. Self-censorship meant no journalist even dared to utter the names of the opposition leaders to their editors, let alone publishing any news about them.

Last week, Iran also closed down Asia, a financial newspaper and suspended the permission for publication of two magazines, Sepidar and Parastoo. Since the disputed election in June, Iran has shut eight newspapers, including Etemaad, Iran's most prominent reformist paper, and has imprisoned more than 100 journalists and bloggers. Almost all opposition newspapers are closed down and access to their websites is blocked.

The Iranian state news agency IRNA reports that the country's leading reformist newspaper has been banned for two months for spreading lies.

No additional details were provided, but the pro-reform Etemad daily had recently published an interview with President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's press adviser, Ali Akbar Javanfekr, in which he criticized the conservative opposition to the Iranian president.

Etemad has been banned several times over the past decade.

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns Iranian authorities' decision to shut the reformist daily Hayate No . The Press Supervisory Board revoked the license of the Tehran-based daily Hayate No for working outside the regulations, according to local news reports, but the agency provided no details of the alleged violations.

Hayate No is considered supportive of defeated presidential candidate Mir-Hossein Mousavi. Its closing came the same day that thousands of Mousavi supporters demonstrated on university campuses in Tehran and nationwide.

It can be no coincidence that on the day student protesters take to the streets, the government muzzles yet another reformist newspaper, said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. Since the disputed presidential election in June, journalists have been censored, harassed and imprisoned. Iran now holds the dubious distinction of being second only to China as a jailer of journalists.

A With at least 30 journalists currently in prison, Iran replaces China as the world's worst jailer of journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. CPJ called on the Iranian authorities to release all journalists who have been detained following the country's disputed June 12 presidential elections.

CPJ research shows that at least 24 detained in the aftermath of the elections remain in custody, in addition to at least six journalists who were in detention prior to the disputed elections. In the past few days three journalists have been freed, while at least three others have been arrested.

Of the 30 journalists currently behind bars, 13 work primarily for print publications, three work for online publications, two work for television stations, six are primarily bloggers, and an additional six are freelancers or with unknown affiliations.

The Iranian authorities have orchestrated a campaign against journalists of all types since the June 12 presidential elections, said CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Mohamed Abdel Dayem: Despite some isolated releases, the number of journalists behind bars is at an all time high. The authorities should immediately release all the detained journalists.

Two major reformist newspapers have been shut down before Friday's election.

All copies of newspaper Etemad Meli have been seized by the government after reformist candidate Mehdi Karroubi made allegations that President Ahmadinejad was involved in several financial scandals. Additionally, the unofficial newspaper of the Islamic Iran Participation Party, Yas-e No , has been shut down.


Hossein Bastani, an Iranian dissident journalist living in France claimed that other reformist newspapers were issued a gag order 96 hours before the election.

With the widespread use of new media among Iranian youth, Bastani believes that dissenting bloggers are more at risk than journalists because of their relative obscurity.

Reformist campaigner Ghomar Asheghaneh recently reported that renowned Iranian blogger Ali Kalai, reported missing a month ago, is in jail.

Bastami fears that while the Iranian government will often withhold from torturing famous journalists because of the public's reaction, young bloggers are prone to much harsher treatment.

Reporters Without Borders condemns the decision by the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance to suspend Hemat , a weekly that supports allies of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The ministry said a spoof movie poster on the front page of the latest issue, on 1 February, had insulted senior government officials.

The spoof poster, for an imaginary movie called Slaying of Ahmadinejad , alluded to the presidential election scheduled for June. The poster showed the photo of the film's supposed director, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani, together with the photos of its three stars: former President Mohammad Khatami, former Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Tehran's current mayor, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf. All three are potential rivals to Ahmadinejad in the election.

The Commission for Press Authorisation and Surveillance, the censorship arm of the ministry of culture and Islamic guidance, ordered the newspaper's suspension for insulting high-placed regime officials.

An Iranian newspaper has been shut down for publishing an article that authorities deemed sympathetic to Israel.

An official at the Culture and Islamic Guidance Ministry, says the Kargozaran newspaper was closed because it sanitized the Zionist regime's crimes in Gaza.

The official said the article suggested Hamas officials were terrorists and brought on civilian deaths by hiding in schools and hospitals. It is not clear when the ban will take effect — the paper did appear on newsstands on Friday.