Iran’s Press Supervisory Board has shut down the 9 Dey weekly maganize published by opposition MP Hamid Resai for publishing articles critical of the nuclear agreement.
The magazine has been reportedly deemed to be in violation of Articles 5 and 6 of the Press Law. Article 5 maintains that all directives passed by the Supreme Council of National Security are binding for all media outlets and any violation of this can lead to a suspension of up to two months.
Subsection 8 of Article 6, however, maintains that any insult to officials and government institutions and individuals is prohibited.
9 Dey magazine has been highly critical of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the 5+1.
Resai has criticized the closure of his publication and described such actions by the Rohani government as “not surprising as this government has shown that it is much less amenable to criticism than it pretends to be.”
In his Instagram message, Resai writes that he is certain his publication will be restored once he presents the court with his evidence, alleging that the Press Supervisory Board is swayed by the administration and the supporters of Ali Larijani, the head of Parliament, who are all in favour of the nuclear agreement.
On February, 9 Dey magazine was shut down for its analysis of the nuclear talks as a blatant retreat by the Iranian negotiators.
Keyhan and Reja News, two other media outlets highly critical of the nuclear negotiations, have also received warnings from the Press Supervisory Board.
