PHOTO: Head of judiciary Sadegh Larijani — President “insulted” us with new press law


Iran’s judiciary has lashed out at President Rouhani over the issue of control of the press, rebuking the President for comments that challenged current restrictions.

On Saturday, Rouhani used a trip to the Tehran Press Fair to announce a new press law transferring some supervision from the Government to “the press itself”. He declared, “We should not break pens with fake excuses and shut mouths based on false pretenses.”

Judiciary head Sadegh Larijani spared no words in his response to Rouhani. He said the comments were “defamation” of and “insulting” to the judiciary, which is the monitor of the press.

Larijani claimed that Rouhani privately calls for the Government to confront newspapers and websites.

Iran is one of the lowest-rated countries in the world for press freedom. Scores of journalists are in prison and others are on bail but effectively prohibited from resuming work. Newspapers and websites are regularly shut down, and the Revolutionary Guards have been pursuing activists, students, and others over Facebook posts.

Rouhani has promised the opening of Iran’s political culture since he took office in August 2013, but he has struggled against hardline and conservative resistance.