Tehran - The Iranian judiciary has ordered the arrest of the
director of the leading reformist daily Etemad Melli (National
Trust), the ISNA news agency reported Tuesday.
A judiciary spokesman told ISNA that the arrest order for
Mohammad-Javad Haqshenas was issued for a probe into an allegedly
insulting article on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
The article, had been written by reformist cleric Rassoul
Montajabnia, published on his website and also by Etemad Melli.
In it, he criticized Ahmadinejad for his claim that he and his
government were supported and managed by the 12th Shiite Imam Mahdi,
who, according to Shiite believe, will return after 1,000 years to
save the world and implement justice.
Montajabnia argued that such claims could not help Ahmadinejad
cover the failure of his policies and Iran's huge inflation level.
Etemad Melli is affiliated to the reformist Etemad Melli party led
by former parliament speaker Mehdi Karroubi who is due to run against
Ahmadinejad in next year's presidential elections.
The newspaper has not been banned yet but Fars news agency
reported that the government press watchdog will convene an emergency
meeting on the issue.
Ahmadinejad was tolerant of critics in his first three years in
office but over the last year, he and his press advisors have
reacted quite sensitively and on several occasions lashed out at
local media.
According to the Iranian Reporter Association (IRA), almost 100
publications have been banned, with more than 2,500 reporters losing
their jobs as a result.
Reformist dailies in Iran are usually closed under the pretext of
insulting religious and political figures and fomenting public
discord. But there have also been closures for non-political reasons.
In March, Iranian cultural authorities, for example, closed down
nine magazines for reporting on the private lives of 'immoral'
Western celebrities.
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