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Iran Editor Is Charged With Defying Ban on Covering Ex-President Iran Editor Is Charged With Defying Ban on Covering Ex-President
(about 1 hour later)
Iran’s conservative judicial authorities indicted the managing editor of a prominent daily newspaper on Tuesday, saying that he had violated prohibitions on the coverage of Mohammad Khatami, a reformist-minded former president they now describe as a seditionist.Iran’s conservative judicial authorities indicted the managing editor of a prominent daily newspaper on Tuesday, saying that he had violated prohibitions on the coverage of Mohammad Khatami, a reformist-minded former president they now describe as a seditionist.
Rights activists said the indictment was a sign not only of the escalating repression of the news media in Iran, but also of heightening tensions between hard-line factions and the administration of the current president, Hassan Rouhani, with parliamentary elections due in February.Rights activists said the indictment was a sign not only of the escalating repression of the news media in Iran, but also of heightening tensions between hard-line factions and the administration of the current president, Hassan Rouhani, with parliamentary elections due in February.
“It is absurd that Khatami, president for eight years, has been declared essentially nonexistent to such an extent that disseminating his picture and voice is considered a crime,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an advocacy group based in New York.“It is absurd that Khatami, president for eight years, has been declared essentially nonexistent to such an extent that disseminating his picture and voice is considered a crime,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, an advocacy group based in New York.
The indictment was also notable because the editor, Mahmoud Doaei, of the Ettelaat, one of Iran’s oldest newspapers, was an early figure in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He was a member of the inner circle around Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the revolution’s founding father, and was considered somewhat protected in the factional feuding that has increasingly marked Iran’s opaque political hierarchy.The indictment was also notable because the editor, Mahmoud Doaei, of the Ettelaat, one of Iran’s oldest newspapers, was an early figure in the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He was a member of the inner circle around Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the revolution’s founding father, and was considered somewhat protected in the factional feuding that has increasingly marked Iran’s opaque political hierarchy.
Mr. Khatami was president from 1997 to 2005, and was an important supporter of the campaign to elect Mr. Rouhani in 2013, when Mr. Rouhani defeated a field of relatively conservative rivals.Mr. Khatami was president from 1997 to 2005, and was an important supporter of the campaign to elect Mr. Rouhani in 2013, when Mr. Rouhani defeated a field of relatively conservative rivals.
Iranian judicial officials decreed a news media blackout in February on photographs or quotations of Mr. Khatami, because of his support for opposition political leaders who have basically been under house arrest since shortly after the disputed election of 2009. In that race, Mr. Rouhani’s conservative predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was re-elected in what critics called a suspiciously lopsided margin, spurring protests that were met with a harsh crackdown.Iranian judicial officials decreed a news media blackout in February on photographs or quotations of Mr. Khatami, because of his support for opposition political leaders who have basically been under house arrest since shortly after the disputed election of 2009. In that race, Mr. Rouhani’s conservative predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was re-elected in what critics called a suspiciously lopsided margin, spurring protests that were met with a harsh crackdown.
While such news media restrictions have been imposed before, this one demonstrated the power of judicial hard-liners to frustrate Mr. Rouhani, who had promised to ease some of the social and political restrictions left over from Mr. Ahmadinejad’s tenure.While such news media restrictions have been imposed before, this one demonstrated the power of judicial hard-liners to frustrate Mr. Rouhani, who had promised to ease some of the social and political restrictions left over from Mr. Ahmadinejad’s tenure.
The hard-liners’ attempt to erase Mr. Khatami from public view is part of what rights advocates call a broader effort to silence any resumption of political dissent and freer expression in the country. The elections in February are likely to be regarded as a test of that effort.The hard-liners’ attempt to erase Mr. Khatami from public view is part of what rights advocates call a broader effort to silence any resumption of political dissent and freer expression in the country. The elections in February are likely to be regarded as a test of that effort.
In the indictment, reported by Iran’s judiciary news service, Mr. Doaei was accused of authorizing the publication of a photograph of Mr. Khatami on Saturday and quoting remarks Mr. Khatami had made in an interview with As-Safir, a Lebanese newspaper.In the indictment, reported by Iran’s judiciary news service, Mr. Doaei was accused of authorizing the publication of a photograph of Mr. Khatami on Saturday and quoting remarks Mr. Khatami had made in an interview with As-Safir, a Lebanese newspaper.
There appeared to be nothing in the interview, however, that might be deemed offensive in Iran. Published in As-Safir on Nov. 20, it quoted Mr. Khatami as calling for regional cooperation to combat a common terrorist threat. It also quoted him as saying that Iran would “witness a major boom” from the lifting of economic sanctions under the nuclear agreement reached in July with world powers, which was negotiated by Mr. Rouhani’s administration.
“This latest development, indicting the managing director of an establishment paper for publishing his picture, is a sign of intensifying repression ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections,” Mr. Ghaemi said. Iran’s hard-liners, he said, “are attempting to put an early end to any attempts for Khatami to play a role in the elections.”“This latest development, indicting the managing director of an establishment paper for publishing his picture, is a sign of intensifying repression ahead of the upcoming parliamentary elections,” Mr. Ghaemi said. Iran’s hard-liners, he said, “are attempting to put an early end to any attempts for Khatami to play a role in the elections.”
Maziar Bahari, an expatriate Iranian-Canadian journalist who was imprisoned under Mr. Ahmadinejad, said that by indicting the Ettelaat editor, the hard-liners took a risk and might have overreached.Maziar Bahari, an expatriate Iranian-Canadian journalist who was imprisoned under Mr. Ahmadinejad, said that by indicting the Ettelaat editor, the hard-liners took a risk and might have overreached.
“Doaei is among Khomeini’s original disciples, and kind of untouchable,” Mr. Bahari said. “He’s also very careful. I don’t think they’ll be able to do anything, but they’ll try.”“Doaei is among Khomeini’s original disciples, and kind of untouchable,” Mr. Bahari said. “He’s also very careful. I don’t think they’ll be able to do anything, but they’ll try.”