[JURIST] The official Iranian press supervisory body on Monday banned reformist daily newspaper Etemaad and moderate weekly magazine Iran Dokht. Etemad is known as one of the few reformist newspapers that continued publishing after the June presidential election. Iran Dokht has ties to defeated opposition presidential candidate Mehdi Karroubi. The publications’ licenses were revoked pursuant to Article 6 of the Press Law, which prohibits print media from publishing news items that “violate Islamic principles and codes and public rights.”
On Sunday, six journalists were released from a Tehran prison, while many others remain incarcerated for their reformist views. In February, a joint US-EU statement condemned Iranian action against protesters and other critics of government policy. The Iranian government has responded strongly to opposition following June’s disputed elections, prompting additional criticism from rights groups and advocacy organizations. Amnesty International (AI) has labeled post-election rights abuses in Iran as some of the worst in the past 20 years.