November 29 2013
Abbas Salehi (photo), the deputy minister of culture, told a news conference last week that the ministry is working to abolish pre-publication clearance for books. But four months into President Rohani’s term, it is still just being worked on. Salehi indicated that new rules and a new “observatory board,” whatever that is, still must be approved by the Supreme Council for the Cultural Revolution. Salehi said nothing about censorship of films or periodicals, just books.
