Back to Brief on Iran
TEHRAN - At newsstands across Tehran, Iranians gather to read the latest salvos in the newspaper wars, a fight shaping up to be as critical to Iran’s future as it is entertaining. The highly partisan newspapers are taking center stage in the struggle…
To the delight of readers, the newspapers trade insults like schoolchildren, debate ideas like college professors and embrace platforms like political parties….
Most newspapers are affiliated with government agencies, but that does not guarantee they are on the same side. Kayhan and Ettelaat, for instance, were confiscated after the 1979 revolution and their directors are named directly by the conservative supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hamshahri is owned by the Tehran municipality and supports Khatemi….
The conservative establishment often finds the public jousting disturbing; the conservative-dominated judiciary has closed some publications and jailed their management. Recently, editors of a few conservative publications also have faced questioning.
Iran’s conservative parliament is pushing
for legislation that would seriously undermine press freedoms….
Fresh Battle Erupts in Iran over Dissident Cleric, Agence France Presse, August 30
TEHRAN - An Iranian dissident cleric is facing fresh allegations of conspiracy against the Islamic republic’s clerical regime, press reports said Monday.
The charges against Ayatollah Hossein-Ali Montazeri come amid a renewed political battle over the one-time favourite son of the regime, who has remained influential despite being under house arrest for the last 10 years, ahead of next spring’s key elections for parliament.
In an open letter published in the hard-line Jomhuri Islami paper, two radical clerics accused Montazeri of managing a "nest of plotters" at his family home.
The two, both former ministers, said the dissident had conspired against the regime from his house in the holy city of Qom, the spiritual stronghold of Iran’s conservative Shiite Moslem leadership.
Montazeri was placed under house arrest a decade ago when similar charges led to him being pushed aside as next in line to become Iran’s supreme leader after the Islamic republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
His supporters have been increasing demands for an end to his decade-long house arrest.
Mehdi Hashemi, the brother of his son-in-law,
was executed in 1987 on charges of plotting against the regime.
Admitting the Obvious: Depression High Among Women Due to Restrictions, Reuters, August 29
TEHRAN - A government study has shown that young women in the conservative holy Iranian city of Qom are more depressed than those in the more liberal capital Tehran, a senior official was quoted as saying on Sunday.
Qom is the stronghold of Iran's Shi'ite Moslem clergy and has a deeply conservative religious culture.
"The study shows that the level of depression in the city of Qom is more than that in Tehran. This goes back to the suppression of girl's interests and existing restrictions."
The survey was conducted recently among women between the ages of 17 and 22.
All Iranian women live under social
restrictions, including a conservative dress code. Iran imposed strict
rules limiting women's freedoms after the 1979 Islamic revolution, but
rules are more strictly applied in conservative cities like Qom.
Deal on Serial Murders Case, State-Controlled Daily Khordad, August 26
Hassan Yusefi Eshkevari [a religious figure] was quoted by this pro-Khatami daily as saying: "The public opinion believes that all aspects of the case of serial murders are not being dealt with (comprehensively). There must have been a deal made over the case, or such a deal is now in the offing."
Mohammad Abaie Khorassani, Qom seminary instructor, said: "The nation expects that the case of serial murders would be followed up and gets to clear results during the Government Week."
In last year's serial murders, a number of Iranian writers and a veteran politician along with his wife were killed.