Iran bans daily, warns others
2010-01-18 20:08
Tehran - Iran's hardline press watchdog cancelled the licence of the reformist newspaper Farhang Ashti on Monday over "repeated wrongdoings," ISNA news agency reported.
The licence of the newspaper, whose name means Culture of Reconciliation, has been suspended several times in the past.
Two other reformist dailies, the prominent Etemad (Confidence) and Aftab Yazd (Sun of Yazd), escaped bans but were issued with warnings, the report added.
Etemad was warned for "publishing an article... in which it implicated the Islamic republic's government as the root of sedition," Mohammad Ali Ramin, a watchdog official, was quoted as saying.
Ramin said a "serious warning" would be handed out to Aftab Yazd "for materials such as encouraging to participate in illegal gatherings that lead to riots".
Ramin, the deputy culture minister for media affairs, has hit out at dailies in breach of the watchdog's rules, comparing them to "corrupt or contaminated elements".
Disturbing public opinion
Last week Iran's judiciary banned the weekly Hemmat for "publishing false information and disturbing public opinion".
The authorities have cracked down on the media and arrested scores of journalists since anti-government protests erupted after the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Ahmadinejad's disputed June 12 poll win has bitterly divided Iran's political elite amid persistent allegations it was massively rigged in his favour.
His government has cracked down on critical media mostly belonging to the rival reformist camp but conservative media have also been hit by a number of closures.
