Ministry of Culture's Plan to Delegate Book Censorship; 'Priority to State Publishers and Those with Academic Staff'

The director of the Book Department of the Ministry of Culture announced that the delegation of censorship to publishers will begin with state and public publishers, as well as those with 'academic staff and experienced personnel.' Mohammad Salgi, in an interview with ILNA news agency published on Saturday, August 9, stated that 'the entire work' of the Ministry of Culture regarding book censorship will not be handed over to publishers and that this process 'requires time.' According to Mr. Salgi, in the first step, censorship will preferably be delegated to state and public publishers, as well as those who 'have academic staff and experienced personnel.' He added that the delegation of censorship to these publishers will initially be done on a trial basis for periods of six months to one year, and if the publishers' performance during this period is 'positive,' they will continue their activities. Ali Jannati, the Minister of Culture of Iran, had announced one of his plans to delegate censorship to publishers in the early months of his tenure. In one instance, Mr. Jannati expressed a contrary opinion, stating that 'book censorship before publication is a principle of the Iranian government that has been entrusted to the state.' In this context, Hossein Nooshabadi, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture, stated on July 19 that delegating censorship to publishers requires legal changes. He emphasized that publishers have not shown 'interest' in taking on censorship responsibilities, and 'therefore, book censorship remains under the Ministry of Culture.' Previously, some publishers had stated that they do not want to be responsible for censoring books, and delegating this responsibility to publishers could significantly harm the publishing industry. In contrast, a large number of writers had proposed in an open letter that the authors themselves should take responsibility for their books. The director general of the Book Department also announced that in the past month, censorship of books in the provinces of Yazd, Khuzestan, and Hamadan has been delegated to monitoring working groups in these provinces. Previously, Ali Shojaei Saeen, the former director general of the Book Department, had stated that the issuance of publishing licenses in the provinces of Khorasan Razavi, Qom, Isfahan, East Azerbaijan, and Kerman has been delegated to monitoring working groups in these provinces, and the Ministry of Culture only registers the licenses issued by these working groups. Meanwhile, Homayoun Amirzadeh, an advisor to the Cultural Deputy of the Ministry of Culture, announced on August 6 that with the amendment of the publishing license issuance guidelines, the issuance of reprint licenses will be conducted in the provinces by a committee composed of publishing activists and managers of the provincial culture and guidance offices. In his interview, the director of the Book Department also stated that this department seeks to 'regulate censorship' and minimize personal biases in it. Mr. Salgi mentioned that in the censorship of specialized books, specialists in that field should be utilized, adding: 'For example, when a historical book is to be reviewed, preferably the person reviewing it should have education and experience in the field of history.' The director of the Book Department previously mentioned in an interview with the monthly 'Shirazeh Book' that some strange restrictions in book publishing had been imposed. Mr. Salgi stated that there were prohibitions regarding the use of the word 'wine' in books, and even the use of 'wine' for the purpose of 'condemning it' has also been subject to restrictions. This Ministry of Culture official also announced that 'mentioning the names of animals, foreign names, and [even] the name of the president of some countries' has also been subject to some restrictions.