Reza Tehrani, the editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine “Keyan”, has recently been summoned to appear before the Press Court to answer charges of publishing false information. He has since been banned from travelling outside Iran. On 7 August 1996, the Deputy Public Prosecutor for Tehran Province, Mr. Ranjbar, stated during a press conference that Tehrani’s […]
Reza Tehrani, the editor-in-chief of the monthly magazine
“Keyan”, has recently been summoned to appear before the Press
Court to answer charges of publishing false information. He has
since been banned from travelling outside Iran.
On 7 August 1996, the Deputy Public Prosecutor for Tehran
Province, Mr. Ranjbar, stated during a press conference that
Tehrani’s trial was to begin soon. According to Ranjbar, the
court will investigate a complaint filed by Dr. Hamed Algar of
the University of California at Berkeley, who claimed that his
signature had been wrongly appended to an open letter expressing
concern about the plight of the dissident philosopher Abdolkarim
Soroush. The letter was published in the June 1996 issue of
“Keyan” (volume 30).
Under Article 23 of Iran’s press law, publications are required
to publish promptly any response by an individual cited by name
in any article in the publication. According to sub-Article 23 of
the same law, if the publication fails to comply with this
requirement, the individual concerned is entitled to submit a
complaint with the office of the general prosecutor. The July
1996 issue of “Keyan” (volume 31) carried a correction of its
earlier mistake with an apology to Dr. Algar, accompanied by a
letter of protest that he had written to the magazine.
Furthermore, Dr. Algar never filed an official complaint against
Tehrani or “Keyan”. In a telephone interview with Human Rights
Watch, Dr. Algar said, “When I learned that it was alleged that I
had made an official complaint, I notified the responsible
judicial authorities that after publication of the correction by
`Keyan’ I regarded that matter as closed.”
Recommended Action
Send appeals to authorities:
who insists he acted in good faith and complied with the press
law, are part of a series of measures taken against news media
that air independent viewpoints
attempt to punish a magazine and its editor for exercising their
right to freedom of expression, in violation of Article 19 of the
International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, to which
Iran is a party
punishment and that “Keyan” may be closed
be lifted immediately, and that any charges against him be
dropped unless there is substantial evidence that he has
committed a recognisably criminal offence
Appeals To
His Excellency Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
The Presidency
Palestine Avenue
Azerbaijan Intersection
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
His Excellency Mr. Ali Besharati
Minister of Interior
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
His Excellency Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi
Ministry of Justice
Park-e Shahr, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
His Excellency Mohammad Ali Besharati Jahromi
Ministry of the Interior
Dr Fatemi Avenue
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Faxes: +98 21 655 426
His Excellency Dr Ali Akbar Velayati
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Sheikh Abdolmajid Keshk-e Mesri Avenue
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Irancare of the Iranian diplomatic representative in your country
(in France)
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran
4, avenue d’Iena
75116 Paris, France
Fax: +33 1 40 70 01 57
(in Canada)
Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran
245 Metcalfe Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 2K2 Canada
Fax: +1 613 232 5712
Mr Hussain Farahi
Secretary, Islamic Human Rights Commission
PO Box 13165-137
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
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