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November 30

* Khatami in dilemma over dissident jailing

TEHRAN, Nov 30 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami finds himself caught between the rule of law he has insisted on implementing here and calls to intervene in the jailing of the nation's leading reformist. Since a hardline religious court slapped former interior minister Abdollah Nuri with a five-year prison term Saturday, and closed his popular daily paper, Khatami's pro-reform backers have called for the verdict to be overturned ... FULL TEXT

* Reformers condemn and hardliners welcome jailing of Nuri

TEHRAN, Nov 30 (AFP) - The reformist faction of Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on Tuesday denounced the five-year jail sentence handed down to a top reformer and Khatami ally for dissent while hardliners here hailed the ruling. The Association of Combattant Clerics (ACC) said the jailing of Abdollah Nuri on Saturday and the closure of his popular Khordad newspaper by a conservative court was an unfair decision motivated by partisan politics ... FULL TEXT

* Parliament to reopen probe on murdered intellectuals

TEHRAN, Nov 30 (AFP) - The Iranian parliament is to continue its investigation into a series of murders of intellectuals and opposition figures shortly, an MP said Tuesday, contradicting a statement by a fellow deputy who said the inquiry was being abandoned. "The Commission of inquiry will resume its work next week," said conservative MP and commission member Ali Movahedi-Savoji ... FULL TEXT

November 29

* Court Silences Iran Reformist With Jail Term

By JOHN F. BURNS
The New York Times
December 28, 1999

Iran's most powerful religious court Saturday imposed a five-year jail term and a five-year banishment from political activity on a Muslim cleric, Abdullah Nouri, who is a close ally of Iran's reformist president and has won wide popular support with demands for an end to authoritarian rule by the religious hierarchy ... FULL TEXT

* Khatami defends jailed reformist Abdollah Nouri

TEHRAN, Nov 28 (AFP) - President Mohammad Khatami on Sunday sprang to the defence of his close ally Abdollah Nuri, Iran's leading reformer who was sentenced to five years in prison for religious and political dissent ... FULL TEXT

* Iran's pro-reform press slams jail sentence on leading reformist

TEHRAN, Nov 28 (AFP) - Iran's moderate press on Sunday unanimously slammed a five-year jail sentence on former interior minister and leading reformist Abdollah Nuri, a close ally of President Mohammad Khatami ... FULL TEXT

* Culture minister deplores Nuri sentence

TEHRAN, Nov 29 (AFP) - Iran's moderate culture minister Monday deplored the conviction of leading reformist Abdollah Nuri by a conservative clerical court, saying like Nuri he contested the tribunal's competence, the state news agency IRNA reported ... FULL TEXT

* Neshat editor gets three years in prison: sources|

TEHRAN, Nov 27 (AFP) - Iranian pro-reform journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin has been given a three-year prison term on anti-Islamic charges, judicial sources said on Saturday ... FULL TEXT

* Conservative papers get lenient court rulings

TEHRAN, Nov 29 (Reuters) - An Iranian court, which has closed several reformist publications, on Monday handed down lenient rulings against two conservative newspapers, effectively letting off both of their publishers with warnings ... FULL TEXT

* Definitive report on Iran's July riots out soon: radio

TEHRAN, Nov 29 (AFP) - Iran's military justice system will make public in the next few days a definitive report on last July's riots in Iran, state radio said Monday ... FULL TEXT

November 27

* Nouri jailed for five years

TEHRAN, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Iran's clerical court on Saturday sentenced Abdollah Nouri, Iran's leading reformist politician, to five years in jail for political and religious dissent. The sentence, which includes closure of Nouri's popular newspaper, deals a heavy blow to the reformist movement, which had looked to Nouri to lead it in next February's parliamentary elections ... FULL TEXT

* Shamsolvaezin gets three years in prison: sources

TEHRAN, Nov 27 (AFP) - Iranian pro-reform journalist Mashallah Shamsolvaezin has been given a three-year prison term on anti-Islamic charges, judicial sources said on Saturday ... FULL TEXT

November 26

* Rushdie puts Iran behind him, plans new quartet

BERLIN, , Nov 26 (Reuters) - British novelist Salman Rushdie said Thursday he was putting his troubles with Iran behind him and had dropped plans to write an account of his decade under threat of death. He will write a quartet of novels instead ... FULL TEXT

November 23

* Court hands down jail term to fourth person over "blasphemous" play

TEHRAN, Nov 23 (AFP) - An Iranian press court handed down a four-month jail sentence Tuesday to a student charged with publishing an allegedly blasphemous play in a university magazine, judicial sources said. Hamed Ahangari became the fourth person to wind up with a prison sentence over the play, which outraged conservatives by appearing to mock the belief of Iran's Shiite Muslims in a "hidden" imam who will return to usher in an age of justice ... FULL TEXT

November 22

* Hardliners warn of more murders

TEHRAN, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Members of a shadowy Iranian group have threatened to resume their campaign of violence, including the murder of dissidents, the leading reformist daily Khordad reported on Monday ... FULL TEXT

November 21

* Thousands rally in Tehran on anniversary of dissidents' murders

TEHRAN, Nov 21 (AFP) - Thousands of Iranians held a rally here Sunday in memory of a pro-nationalist couple slain last year during a string of murders of leading dissidents that authorities blamed on rogue members of the secret police ... FULL TEXT

November 20

* Defiant cleric shakes Iran establishment

TEHRAN, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Iranian dissident theologian Abdollah Nouri says duty to God and country drove him to risk both his liberty and his immediate political future in a landmark challenge to Iran's conservative establishment. Sitting serenely in his office, Nouri told Reuters in an interview he was indifferent to his likely jail sentence ... FULL TEXT

November 18

* Moderate culture minister "not optimistic" over Nuri verdict

TEHRAN, Nov 18 (AFP) - Iran's moderate culture minister fears the outcome of the controversial trial of leading reformist Abdollah Nuri on charges of offending Islam, press reports said Thursday ... FULL TEXT

November 17

* Shamsolvaezin freed on bail

TEHRAN, Nov 17 (AFP) - Reformist newspaper editor Mashallah Shamsolvaezin was freed on bail Wednesday pending the press court's verdict following his trial on charges of fraud and offending Islam, staff at his paper said ... FULL TEXT

* Abdollah Nouri to submit defence to anti-Islamic charges Saturday

TEHRAN, Nov 17 (AFP) - Iranian reformist Abdollah Nuri will submit his written defence to the hardline Special Court for Clergy (SCC) Saturday, following his trial for alleged anti-Islamic offences, his lawyer Mohsen Ramahi said Wednesday ... FULL TEXT

* Former interior minister to start newspaper

TEHRAN, Nov 17 (Reuters) - A former Iranian interior minister is to publish a new daily newspaper, in a bid to help fill the gap left by the closure in July of the leading reformist voice, newspapers reported on Wednesday. The first edition of Bayan, or Expression, is scheduled to appear on Thursday under publisher Ali Akbar Mohtashami, a former militant interior minister, the daily Azad said ... FULL TEXT

November 16

* Press jury says female editor is guilty: report

TEHRAN, Nov 16 (AFP) - Tehran's press court jury has found a female newspaper editor guilty on more than half the charges levelled against her, the conservative Abrar paper reported Tuesday. Jaleh Oskui, 40, was deemed guilty on eight charges, and exonerated on the remaining seven, the paper said ... FULL TEXT

* Restricting freedom of expression can "lead to violence"

TEHRAN, Nov 16 (AFP) - Iran's Interior Minister, Abdolvahid Mussavi Lari has warned that if freedom of expression is restricted, the end result of could be violence and dictatorship, the English-language Iran News reported Tuesday ... FULL TEXT

November 15

* Press court deals with woman editor in three hours

TEHRAN, Nov 15 (AFP) - Iran's press court Monday took just three hours to hear charges against a female newspaper editor accused of 15 different offences including the publication of anti-Islamic articles. Jaleh Oskui, 40, head of the banned Penj-Shanbeh-ha (Thursdays) weekly, appeared without a defence lawyer before press court judge Said Mortazavi ... FULL TEXT

November 14

* Shamsolvaezin defies press court judge

TEHRAN, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Reformist editor Mashallah Shamsolvaezin defied Iran's press court on Sunday, challenging the fairness of the judge and vowing not to be intimidated. ``You want to forcibly remove me from journalism,'' Shamsolvaezin told Judge Saeed Mortazavi on the third tumultuous day of his trial for forgery and insulting Islam ... FULL TEXT

November 12

* ANALYSIS-Court deals blow to Iran reform movement

TEHRAN, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The conviction of Abdollah Nouri by a hardline clerical jury has effectively deprived Iran's pro-reform movement of its leading light ahead of next year's parliamentary elections. The clerics, all from the hardline faction that dominates the judiciary, also ruled that there were no mitigating circumstances. However, the judge of the Special Court for Clergy must still issue a final verdict and pass sentence ... FULL TEXT

November 11

* Jury recommends convicting Nouri

TEHRAN, Nov 11 (Reuters) - A hardline clerical jury in Iran has recommended conviction of leading reformist cleric Abdollah Nouri after his trial on charges of political and religious dissent, the Iranian news agency IRNA reported on Thursday. It quoted a court statement as saying the jury of the Special Court for Clergy voted to convict Nouri, a former vice-president, on 15 unspecified counts and found that there were no mitigating circumstances ... FULL TEXT

November 10

* Revolution on trial

Khordad publisher Abdollah Nouri's defends himself in court (PDF file) ... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN

* Hardline Iranian court ends hearings, Nouri defiant

TEHRAN, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Iran's hardline Special Court for Clergy on Wednesday wound up hearings in the trial of leading reformist cleric Abdollah Nouri, charged with political and religious dissent. The court gave Nouri, a former vice-president, eight days to submit his final written defence. A verdict from the panel of conservative clerics is due within a week after that. Nouri has already predicted he will be convicted ... FULL TEXT

November 9

* Abdollah Nouri calls for end to silence over past leaders

TEHRAN, Nov 9 (AFP) - Reformist firebrand Abdollah Nuri broke new ground in his defiance of Iran's conservatives Tuesday by demanding rehabilitation of two historic nationalist leaders and "civic rights" for a disgraced cleric long under house arrest ... FULL TEXT

* Judge jails editror's lawyer

TEHRAN, Nov 9 (AFP) - Iran's press court judge jailed a defence lawyer of reformist newspaper editor Mashallah Shamsolvaezin Tuesday at the end of the second day of the journalist's trial here. Judge Said Mortazavi ordered Mohammad Seyfzadeh to prison for five days for contempt of court as he adjourned the trial until Saturday.... FULL TEXT

* Leading Iranian editor's trial continues amid press protests

TEHRAN, Nov 9 (AFP) - Reformist newspaper editor Mashallah Shamsolvaezin appeared as defiant as ever on the second day of his trial here, as Iran's journalists protested against continuing crackdowns on the press ... FULL TEXT

* Reformist and conservative students stage rival demonstrations

TEHRAN, Nov 9 (AFP) - Reformist and conservative students in Tehran staged separate demonstrations Tuesday for and against liberalisation of the press, against a background of judicial action against journalists ... FULL TEXT

November 8

* Press court begins hearings against veteran reformist editor

TEHRAN, Nov 8 (AFP) - Veteran reformist newspaper editor Mashallah Shamsolvaezin, who has repeatedly thumbed his nose at court bans on his titles, went on trial before Tehran's press court Monday on charges of offending Islam. Shamsolvaezin was called to answer charges of "insulting Islamic sanctities, as well as forging news items," state television said ... FULL TEXT

* Adineh's life-time ban reduced to five years

Tehran, (Hamshahri) - The ban for life issued by the press court against the respected independent magazine Adineh last winter, has been reduced to five years upon appeal. However, the new decision will also be appealed, editor Gholam-Hossein Zakeri said... FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN

* Khatami calls for "culture of criticism" in Iran

TEHRAN, Nov 8 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami defended his policy of opening up society, as the conservative courts continued their clampdown on the moderate press with a high-profile case against a veteran newspaper editor, Monday's press reported. The "culture of criticism in society" must be expanded and strengthened, the English-language Iran News quoted him as saying during a visit to the culture ministry ... FULL TEXT

November 4

* Maverick cleric says Iran can't ignore US forever

TEHRAN, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Maverick Iranian cleric Abdollah Nouri on Thursday told a court trying him for political and religious dissent that Iran could no longer ignore the United States' position as biggest player in the international arena ... FULL TEXT

November 3

* Nuri vows to defend rights

TEHRAN, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Maverick Iranian reformist Abdollah Nouri, on trial for political and religious dissent, pledged in court on Wednesday to defend citizens' constitutional rights. ``I will defend the constitutional rights of the people with all my power,'' Nouri said, defying continuous interruptions by the judge of the hardline Special Court for Clergy ... FULL TEXT

November 2

* Shamsolvaezin, editor of Neshat, arrested

TEHRAN, Nov 2 (AFP) - Iran's press court finally arrested veteran reformist newspaper editor Mashallah Shamsolvaezin Tuesday on a warrant issued more than two weeks ago and jailed him pending trial on November 8, his lawyer said. The move against Shamsolvaezin, who has repeatedly thumbed his nose at the courts by bringing new titles to the newsstands to replace banned newspapers, came as the same court jailed three student writers for blasphemy ... FULL TEXT

* Students protest against mounting press clampdown

TEHRAN, Nov 2 (AFP) - Some 600 students demonstrated in the provinces against the mounting clampdown by the conservative courts on Iran's fledgling reformist press, the government-run Iran paper reported Tuesday. "Some 600 male and female students from the Bu-Ali Sina and medical sciences universities staged a demonstration Sunday" in the western city of Hamedan, the paper said ... FULL TEXT

* Press court jails students for "blasphemous" play: radio

TEHRAN, Nov 2 (AFP) - Iran's press court handed down three year jail sentences to two students charged with publishing an allegedly blasphemous play in a university magazine Tuesday, Iranian radio said. A third student was given a suspended sentence and a university professor was pardoned, the radio said ... FULL TEXT

November 1

* Nouri opens defence in clerical court

TEHRAN, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Outspoken Iranian reformist Abdollah Nouri on Monday opened his defence against charges of political and religious dissent that are expected to derail his campaign to become speaker of parliament. Nouri sat silently in the Tehran Special Court for Clergy as his lawyer, fellow cleric Mohsen Rahami, challenged libel charges presented by the chief of Iran's security police and the publisher of an obscure weekly as ``baseless.'' ... FULL TEXT

* UN says freedoms of press & expression decreasing in Iran

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 1 (AFP) - Freedoms of the press, expression and association are on the decline in Iran since the repression in July of student protests against the current regime, the United Nations said in a report released Monday ... FULL TEXT

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