Director of Iranian paper arrested
TEHRAN, June 16 (AFP) - The director of a weekly publication close
to reformist circles in Iran was arrested Wednesday on the orders of the
conservative revolutionary tribunal in Tehran, the magazine said.
Hossein Kashani, director of Hoveyat-e-Khish, was taken in for questioning
for having published information contrary to "public order and the
public interest," officials said.
He was detained after interrogation by the revolutionary court, the
paper reported.
His detention follows a culture ministry announcement last week that
it intended to charge the publication over a series of "deceitful
and offensive" articles.
Hoveyat-e-Khish's editor-in-chief, Heshmatollah Tabarzadi, a radical
activist who is now close to reformist President Mohammad Khatami, has
also been summoned to appear before the revolutionary tribunal Thursday.
Hoveyat-e-Khish, which has so far only published three issues, is particularly
hostile to hardliners.
Tabarzadi formerly directed another paper, Peyam-e-Daneshju, which
was banned three years ago after complaints from a number of government
officials.
Iran's moderate press, which started to enjoy considerable freedom
with Khatami's election two years ago, has been coming under increasing
pressure recently from conservatives.
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