(WAN/IFEX) – In a 22 May 2000 letter to President Mohammed Khatami, WAN and the World Editors Forum expressed serious concern at the closure of the reformist newspaper “Ham’mihan”. According to reports, on 16 May the management of “Ham’mihan” received a letter from the Tehran press court ordering the newspaper to cease publication. “Ham’mihan” was […]
(WAN/IFEX) – In a 22 May 2000 letter to President Mohammed Khatami, WAN and the World Editors Forum expressed serious concern at the closure of the reformist newspaper “Ham’mihan”.
According to reports, on 16 May the management of “Ham’mihan” received a letter from the Tehran press court ordering the newspaper to cease publication. “Ham’mihan” was run by the former mayor of Tehran, Gholamhossein Karbaschi, and is the seventeenth reformist publication to be closed in recent weeks.
Recommended Action
Send appeals to the president:
– reminding him that the closure of “Ham’mihan” is a clear breach of the right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous international conventions, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Iran has ratified
– noting that this covenant states: “Everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print”
– respectfully calling on him to ensure that the closure order is rescinded and that “Ham’mihan” is permitted to publish freely
– urging him to do everything in his power to ensure that in future Iran fully respects its international obligations to freedom of expression
Appeals To
APPEALS TO:
His Excellency Mohammed Khatami
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
c/o Embassy in France
Fax: +140700157
Please copy appeals to WAN.
