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Two more papers ordered closed in Iran

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October 25, 2000 

TEHRAN (AP) - Iran's hard-line judiciary has ordered two more newspapers closed, bringing to three the number of papers shut down this week, state-run Tehran radio reported Tuesday.

Weekly newspapers Mihan and Sepideh Zendegi were ordered temporarily closed by the hard-line judiciary on Monday, the radio said.

On Sunday the Sobh-e-Omid weekly was ordered closed. The judiciary, which has been behind the closure of more than two dozen reformist publications since April, is controlled by hard-liners opposed to reforms initiated by President Mohammad Khatami.

"The three papers have been ordered closed for violating the press law," the radio quoted a statement by the judiciary as saying. It gave no further details.

The chief of the Tehran Justice Administration, Abbas Ali Alizadeh, had warned on Monday that several weekly newspapers that had begun publishing as dailies without obtaining permission from the judiciary would be closed down. He did not say which ones.

The judiciary has become the most powerful tool in the hands of hard-liners trying to silence the voice of reformists and weaken Khatami's power base. Besides newspaper closures, they also have used the judiciary to jail, try, or harass prominent Khatami allies in their bid to retain power. Hard-liners also control the broadcast media and the military.