Head of Kish Broadcasting Center Dismissed Due to Airing 'Sex Scene' from a Film

The broadcast of an uncensored film by the Kish Broadcasting Center led to the dismissal of its head and the reprimand and dismissal of several employees of the network. The sex scenes from this film, featuring the famous Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan, were aired without any alteration by the Kish television network. Following this incident, the public relations department of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) announced on Sunday, January 9, that Abdolali Ali-Asgari, the head of the organization, ordered the dismissal of Alireza Najabat, the head of the Kish Broadcasting Center, due to 'negligence and lack of oversight in broadcasting a film.' Ali-Asgari, in a letter to Ali Darabi, the deputy for provincial affairs of IRIB, also requested a 'thorough investigation of this incident in the preservation and protection center' of the organization. He further asked Darabi to 'discover the factors and reasons behind this and to take serious action against the violators and refer them to legal authorities.' Najabat's dismissal came after the Kish Broadcasting Center's director had announced that 'the errant employees of this center were reprimanded and dismissed due to airing inappropriate images from Kish television.' After the uncensored images of this film were broadcast, the IRIB news agency in Kish published a text attributed to Alireza Najabat along with his apology to viewers for what was termed 'inappropriate images' aired from the Kish Broadcasting Center. He attributed this incident to 'the inattention of some broadcasting staff' and described it as an 'unintentional act,' announcing their dismissal and reprimand from their organizational positions. Najabat also stated that 'the managers and staff of the Kish Center, as before, with a people-oriented approach, strive to meet the audience's satisfaction by producing and broadcasting audience-centered programs.' Alireza Najabat was appointed as the head of the Kish Broadcasting Center in October 2017. He holds a master's degree in international relations and has previously held positions in public relations management, education, polling, research, and as the deputy of the Fars Voice Center. The uncensored airing of this film occurred in a context where extensive censorship has been applied to films and series broadcast by the Islamic Republic for the past 40 years, with not only parts of films, series, or cartoons for children being removed but also in some cases the entire storyline of films and series being altered due to these censorships. The ISNA news agency reported that following the broadcast of this film, 'its immoral images, which were completely contrary to the regulations of IRIB,' were widely circulated on social media. The release of the uncensored images of this film from the Kish network on social media has sparked significant reactions, with Twitter users referring to the broadcast as a 'super film' and the actions of the network's employees becoming a widespread subject of humor. Some users criticized that Alireza Najabat was dismissed despite his apology, while Ali Akbar Velayati, the head of the board of trustees and founder of Azad University, remained in his position despite the deaths of 10 students in a bus accident at the University of Science and Research. For instance, Ehsan Badaghi, a parliamentary reporter for the Iran newspaper, tweeted, 'The director of the Kish Broadcasting Center was first apologizing for a few seconds of film broadcast and then was dismissed. But at the University of Science and Research, ten people were killed, and there was not only no dismissal but we didn't even see a serious apology. Is a few seconds of film more sensitive than human lives?' Another user wrote, 'The director of the Kish Broadcasting Center was dismissed for airing a vulgar film. They forgot to censor a piece of the film, and immediately the director, employees, and assistants were all dismissed. They apologized a thousand times. A bus went off a cliff and ten people died, and the university president was not dismissed, nor did they apologize!!'