(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 16 February 2000 RSF press release: IRAN On the eve of legislative elections, conservatives intensify their pressure on the reformist press Reporters sans frontières is alarmed by the press freedom situation on the eve of legislative elections. In 1999, the courts, dominated by conservatives, put seven journalists behind bars […]
(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 16 February 2000 RSF press release:
IRAN
On the eve of legislative elections, conservatives intensify their pressure on the reformist press
Reporters sans frontières is alarmed by the press freedom situation on the eve of legislative elections. In 1999, the courts, dominated by conservatives, put seven journalists behind bars and ordered the closure of five newspapers with reformist leanings. Since the start of 2000, one newspaper has been suspended, one journalist has been arrested, three editors have had legal proceedings launched against them and three radio stations have had their programmes jammed. Three journalists are currently jailed in the country for violating press laws.
The most significant example of this pressure is undoubtedly the sentencing of Abdollah Nouri, editor of the daily Khordad, on 27 November 1999. The Special Court for the Clergy found him guilty on fifteen counts, including “anti-religious propaganda”, “insults directed at Imam Khomeiny”, “destabilisation of public opinion”, etc. The court sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment, ordered the closure of his newspaper and barred him from practicing journalism for five years.
Khordad is the fifth newspaper with reformist leanings to be banned by conservatives. On 3 February 1999, the monthly Adineh had its licence revoked because of “lies” and articles which ran “contrary to Islamic morals”. The weekly Fakour was also banned for publishing an interview with Mohsen Kadivar, a reformist Islamist intellectual. Kadivar was himself imprisoned in April 1999 because of his articles which called for greater autonomy between politics and religion. On 7 July, the daily Salam was suspended for criticising a bill which was to toughen penalties against the press. This closure led to a number of confrontations between students and law enforcement officials in the country’s main cities. On 4 August, Salam was permanently suspended. On 5 September, the daily Neshat was banned for “insulting Islam” and its editor-in-chief, Machallah Chamsolvaézine, was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on 27 November.
Despite these setbacks, the liberal press, which for the most part echoes the aspirations of youth and women, is not resigned to failure. With each newspaper that is banned, a new one is created under a new name: Salam gives way to Bayan, Neshat becomes Asr-E-Azdegan, Khordad changes to Fath. But the courts are not relenting their pressure either. On 5 February 2000, Nik Ahang-Kosar, the political cartoonist of Azad, appeared before the Press Court because two of his caricatures were deemed “insulting” to Ayatollah Mohammad-Taghi Mesbah-Yazdi. This conservative religious notable, known for his harsh positions regarding the reformist press, had recently accused the newspaper of being bankrolled by the CIA. Since the start of February, foreign radio stations have been targeted by conservatives, who have jammed the Persian-language programmes of the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and the BBC. In light of the growing tensions on the eve of elections, and at the request of reformist members of parliament, the parliament agreed in January to a three-month delay (meaning after legislative elections) in the passing of a controversial bill on the press which was adopted on first reading in July 1999.
Should they be elected, Reporters sans frontières asks candidates to oppose the press bill and to commit themselves to doing everything possible to secure the release of the three journalists who are currently imprisoned.
