January 17-2014
The Press Supervisory Board operating under the Rohani Administration closed its first publication last week—a fiery hardline weekly notable for its antipathy to Rohani.
Yalasarat al-Hussein, the official media outlet of Ansar-e Hezbollah, a group that advocates beating regime opponents, was suspended by the Board, which also announced that two other hardline publications were given warnings.
After the announcement, 65 Majlis deputies issued a written warning to President Rohani criticizing his approach to media critical of his administration.
The Press Supervisory Board, which operates under the Culture Ministry, wrote on its website that Yalasarat was suspended in accordance with Sections 8 and 11 of Article 6 and Article 12 of Iran’s media law.
The sections from Article 6 forbid “libel against officials, institutions, organs and individuals of the country” and publishing “rumors or untrue articles or distorting the contents of other articles.” Article 12 states that the Culture Ministry is bound to pursue “media violations.”
It is not announced what article or articles published by Yalasarat caused its suspension, but the outlet is considered an extreme hardline publication that recently attacked Rohani’s cultural initiatives. In December, it published an article that derisively asked Rohani if he “really is a cleric.” The article was a play on words, as “rohani” literally means “spiritual” but is considered a polite way of saying “cleric” in Persian.
The article criticized Rohani and his culture minister for granting too many licenses for music concerts where “nudity” (meaning women showing their hair) and “gender mixing” are tolerated.
The managing editor of Yalasarat, Abdul-Hamid Mohtasham, told the Fars news agency the reasons for the suspension were not conveyed to him, but he said that the publication had previously received a warning about its “cultural approach.”
Two other hard-line publications, Vatan-e Emruz and 9 Dey, received warnings from the Press Supervisory Board.
The US website Al-Monitor said it appeared the warning to Rohani from the Majlis deputies was sparked by the suspension of Yalasarat and the warnings to the other publications. The deputies asked Rohani to stick to the ideas voiced in a recent speech, in which he said that his administration would tolerate criticism, especially criticism that is “healthy, productive and sympathetic.”