International   

Reformist paper closed down for second time

Tehran: Authorities in Iran have closed down the country’s leading reformist newspaper in the latest stage of an offensive against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s opponents in the media.

Shargh, which has been critical of Mr. Ahmadinejad, was ordered to shut after running an interview with an anti-regime poet last Saturday. The poet, Saghi Qahraman, has been accused by the Islamic rulers of promoting homosexuality.

The newspaper unsuccessfully attempted to placate official anger by publishing a front-page apology after withdrawing the article from its website.

It was the second time Shargh had been shut in less than a year. It only re-opened in May after being closed last autumn, ostensibly because of official disapproval over the make-up of its editorial team. Editor Ahmad Gholami sugge sted that Saturday’s interview was merely an excuse for the latest closure. “Publication of an interview is not a plausible justification for banning a newspaper,” he said. Ham Mihan, a moderate newspaper, and ILNA, a trade union-linked news agency, were closed last month. Twenty-seven MPs recently wrote to Mr. Ahmadinejad complaining about official filtering of news-based websites.

They also urged him to ease the confrontational approach towards critical media. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2007

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Brown reverses Guantanamo policy
Laos happy over growing India-China ties
Report on rights abuses tendentious, says Colombo
Jewish squatters evicted from Hebron
Gusmao appointment “illegal”
Russia deploys new missile defence
Maoists set terms for poll
Learning about slavery on rough seas
Georgia slams Russia
Reformist paper closed down for second time
Admits to Editor’s killing

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu