October 14, 2016
Masud Heydari, head of the Iranian Labor News Agency (ILNA), was charged last week with “spreading lies to agitate the public mind.”
The charge comes after five members of the Tehran City Council complained against ILNA, which had published a report alleging they had received preferential treatment in the course of illegal land deals made by the Tehran municipality.
The council members also complained against 13 other news sites and Telegram channels, accusing them of “spreading lies, insults and libel” by picking up the ILNA story about the corruption.
Hassan Ghasemi, a lawyer for Councilman Abolfazl Ghana’ati, told the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA) that the Media and Culture Court was handling the complaints and that the accused would receive summonses.
After informing Heydari of the charges against him, the assistant prosecutor gave him one week to present evidence supporting ILNA’s report.
ILNA said the councilmen and dozens of others had been able to buy city-owned properties at a fraction of their market value.
While Heydari is under investigation for publishing a story on the alleged corruption, no one has said whether the regime is investigating the allegations of corrupt land deals.