Iran Court Slaps Permanent Ban on Reform Paper

Published August 17th, 2000 - 03:00 GMT

Iran's press court imposed a permanent ban on a suspended pro-reform newspaper and barred its director from further press activities, newspapers said Thursday.

Ava (The Voice) was one of more than 20 publications closed in a sweeping crackdown on the press over the past few months led by the conservative-dominated courts.

The government-run Iran paper said Ava's director Mostafa Izadi, accused of attempting to undermine the supremacy of the nation's supreme religious leader in his daily, was also slapped with a fine.

The press court in June had charged Izadi with changing the orientation of Ava, licensed as a culture and sport publication, to a political newspaper.

The press crackdown was launched after reformists behind President Mohammed Khatami won a majority in February's parliamentary elections, ending the longtime conservative grip on the legislature.

Every major newspaper supporting Khatami has been closed and several high-profile journalists and allies of the president have been jailed - TEHRAN (AFP)