The Case of the Newspaper 'Ruyesh-e Mellat' Went to Court; Kayhan Received a Warning

A few days after the killing of Hossein Hamadani, a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Syria, the newspaper 'Ruyesh-e Mellat' received a warning for the headline it used to report his death, and the case was referred to court. Hossein Hamadani, who was killed on Thursday night, October 16, in the suburbs of Aleppo, had commanded the IRGC's Mohammad Rasulullah Corps in Tehran during the suppression of the protest movement following the 2009 presidential elections and on Ashura of that year. On October 18, nearly all newspapers used the title 'martyrdom' for Hamadani's death, but 'Ruyesh-e Mellat', under the management of Hikmatollah Mousavi, wrote on its front page: 'Brigadier General Hossein Hamadani was killed in Syria.' According to the IRNA news agency, the Press Supervisory Board announced in its meeting on Tuesday, October 20, that the headline and content of the front page of 'Ruyesh-e Mellat' on October 18 regarding Hossein Hamadani were deemed a violation of Article 6, Clause 8 of the Press Law, and it was decided that a warning would be issued to the newspaper and its case would be referred to court. Clause 8 of Article 6 of the Press Law states that 'slander against officials, institutions, organizations, and any individuals in the country, and insults to individuals and legal entities that have religious sanctity, even if through the publication of photos or caricatures, are among the violations of press freedom,' which is explained in this clause with the phrase 'disruption of the foundations and rulings of Islam and public and private rights.' Hossein Nooshabadi, the spokesman for the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, previously told IRNA that 'Ruyesh-e Mellat' had acted in a 'non-cultural and non-journalistic' manner by using the term 'killed' for this news, which 'is not at all compatible with the grand objectives of the country,' and added that 'a decision will be made about this publication in the first meeting of the Press Supervisory Board.' A warning was also issued to Kayhan based on the announcement from the Press Supervisory Board's secretariat, which determined that some phrases in an article titled 'Representatives Shouted Death to America' on page 10 of Kayhan's October 9 issue also fell under Clause 8 of Article 6, and it was decided that a warning would be issued to this newspaper as well. The secretariat did not provide further explanation regarding the reason for the warning to Kayhan. Referring to the mentioned article with that title on page 10 of Kayhan's October 9 issue shows that this article is a report from the public session of the Islamic Consultative Assembly on October 8. In part of this report, Bahram Birarvand, the representative from Boroujerd, criticized Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, stating: 'Exactly when hundreds of Iranian pilgrims were killed or went missing due to Saudi crimes, Zarif coincidentally found himself in Obama's arms.' The report continues: 'He stated that Mr. Zarif has made many mistakes, saying that if he made this mistake as Foreign Minister, he should know he has exceeded his authority and should be punished; if as a person he has a thirst for hugging Obama and Kerry, he should resign from his position and set up a stand in front of Kerry and Obama's house.'