3 Sep 2008 | Middle East and North Africa, News and features
Hassan Al-Fahs, Tehran bureau chief of the Dubai-based satellite TV station Al-Arabiya, has been ordered to leave the country by the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance. There was widespread astonishment amongst the management of Al-Arabiya as they continued to emphasise Al-Fahs’s professionalism as a journalist. The station also stated that it had never reported a story on Iran without incorporating the government’s viewpoint. There has not yet been any explanation from the authorities.
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7 Jul 2008 | Digital Freedom, Middle East and North Africa, News and features
A draft has been passed on its first reading by the Iranian parliament which proposes to apply the death penalty to bloggers and website editors who ‘promote corruption, prostitution or apostasy’. According to article 3 of the bill, judges will be able to decide whether the person found guilty of these crimes is a ‘mohareb’ (enemy of God) or a ‘corrupter on earth’. Article 190 of the criminal code stipulates that these crimes are punishable by ‘hanging’ or by ‘amputation of the right hand and left foot’.
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17 Mar 2008 | Iran, Middle East and North Africa
Iran’s culture ministry yesterday closed down nine lifestyle magazines, claiming they used ‘photos of artists, especially foreign corrupt film stars, as instruments to arouse desire’.
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12 Mar 2008 | Middle East and North Africa, News and features
An Afghan magazine editor has been detained in Iran and continues to be held without charge. Ali Muhahiq Nasab, editor of the monthly Haqoq-e-Zan (Women’s Rights), was apparently detained by Iranian officials on 4 March in Qumm, near Tehran.
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