Tehran’s conservative Press Court yesterday banned the newly launched daily Ayineh-e-Jonoub (formerly a weekly), citing more than a dozen unspecified complaints.
In addition, Press Court judge Said Mortazavi cited a recent Appeal Court ruling that convicted the paper’s publisher, reformist member of Parliament Mohammed Dadfar, of anti-regime “propaganda” as another reason for the ban.
In a separate incident yesterday, the Press Court barred publication of the new daily Rouz-e-No, which was slated to hit newsstands next week, saying that the paper was a continuation of the recently banned Norooz. Last month, the court slapped Norooz with a six—month suspension.
“With each newspaper banned, Iran’s judiciary reaffirms its utter disregard for press freedom,” said CPJ Executive Director Ann Cooper. “This harassment is unacceptable and must stop.”
