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