An Iranian court has suspended a reformist daily and banned its director from press activities for a period of five years for "spreading lies, disturbing the public mind and defamation", press reports said on Tuesday.
The director of the Aftab-e Emruz newspaper, Farhat Fard-Nia, was accused of "propagation against the Islamic regime" by publishing an article entitled "Leader can never be above the law", which questioned the supreme leadership of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Furthermore, he was also convicted of defamation for publishing an article entitled "Details of terrorist bases in Shahr-e Rey", a district on the southern edge of Tehran.
Aside from being handed a five-year ban, he was also ordered to pay ten million rials (some 1,250 US dollars). Meanwhile, his lawyer said he would appeal the verdict. (Albawaba.com)
