Iran's Attorney General Files Charges Against 'Khabar Online' Website

An Iranian judicial official has strongly protested against a critical article by Khabar Online regarding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stating that the Attorney General has filed charges against the news site. Abdol-Samad Khorram-Abadi, Deputy Judicial Attorney General, said on Tuesday, January 13, to the Fars News Agency: "The judiciary will not allow cyberspace to become a playground for spreading falsehoods and disturbing public opinion against the country's institutions." He added: "With the agreement of the Attorney General, charges have been filed against the Khabar Online website for disturbing public opinion, and the Tehran Revolutionary Public Prosecutor's Office will handle the case." Khabar Online recently published a note titled "Decoding the Corruption of Abu Zar and Salman in the Words of the President," which severely criticized the IRGC without naming it. The note emphasized that "an institution that can act as a judicial authority, having police, prisons, and cells, and can arrest, imprison, and interrogate individuals" is a "dangerous" entity. The author of the note then stated that if the IRGC is not returned to barracks, the Islamic Republic should expect "corrupt Salmans and Abuzars." This note was based on recent remarks by Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, who stated that "the economy in the country does not progress with monopoly" and "if an issue is monopolized by a specific group, corruption arises even if it involves Salmans and Abuzars." The Khabar Online note previously drew a reaction from the Press Supervisory Board and a warning from this regulatory body, but Mr. Khorram-Abadi stated that "the decision of the Press Supervisory Board regarding Khabar Online was very weak." Meanwhile, Mohammad Hossein Safar Harandi, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, also criticized Hassan Rouhani's remarks about corruption. According to Mehr News Agency, Mr. Safar Harandi stated: "Those who, out of indifference, consider the concentration of several specialties in one point as a cause of corruption that also corrupts Salman and Abu Zar, why did they not feel danger when individuals like Gholam Hossein Afshordi, a journalist, took up arms to protect this country? Apparently, we needed Salmans and Abuzars there, but when the danger was removed, we no longer needed them." Gholam Hossein Afshordi, known as Hassan Baqeri, was a commander of the IRGC during the Iran-Iraq War and worked for the Islamic Republic newspaper for a period before being killed in the war in 1982. Mr. Safar Harandi called Hassan Rouhani's remarks a "strategic mistake" and warned the President of Iran, without mentioning his name, to correct his statements.