Suspension Order for Newspaper That Has Not Yet Been Published

An Iranian court has suspended the newspaper Ayneh-ye Janub, another reformist publication, just one week after its launch. The court found the newspaper guilty of publishing illegal content. The judge stated that the newspaper does not have the right to publish because its publisher, Mohammad Dadfar, a reformist member of parliament, was convicted last year for spreading falsehoods against the Islamic Republic. The same court has also issued a preemptive suspension order for another newspaper that has not yet started publication. This judge considers the newspaper, which was supposed to be published under the name Rooz-e No, as a potential replacement for the reformist newspaper Nourouz, which has been banned from publication for six months. Mr. Dadfar, a representative from Bushehr and a member of the Islamic Iran Participation Front, which holds the majority of parliamentary seats, launched Ayneh-ye Janub as a nationwide newspaper on August 1, just one week after the suspension of the reformist newspaper Nourouz. The responsible director of Nourouz is also a reformist member of parliament who has been banned from press activities for four years on several charges, including inciting public opinion and propaganda against the Islamic system. Over the past two years, the Iranian judiciary has suspended more than 50 publications. Meanwhile, according to the official Iranian news agency IRNA, journalist Hashem Aghajeri was detained today in Hamedan by a local court order. Mr. Aghajeri is set to be tried at the end of August on charges of insulting sacred beliefs. Aghajeri has sparked controversy by questioning the Islamic principle of ijtihad or imitation of religious leaders.