Iran’s Press Supervisory Board has issued a warning to the reformist newspaper Royesh Mellat and referred the file to the judiciary for the paper’s use of the term “death” rather than “martyrdom” in reference to the recent death of Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Hamedani in Syria.
IRNA reports that on Monday October 12, the Press Supervisory Board found the Royesh Mellat daily in violation of Article 8 of the press law and referred it to the judiciary.
Article 8 of this legislation lists “Defamation of figures and institutions and organizations and an insult to legal persons with religious veneration, even through photos and cartoons” as forbidden for Iranian media.
Last week, the IRGC reported that Hamedani was killed by ISIS forces in the suburbs of Aleppo.
Hamedani was one of the founders of the Revolutionary Guards and he commanded Iranian forces in the Iran-Iraq War. The IRGC also credits him with the suppression of the 2009 election protests in Iran.
Royesh Mellat began publication last year and is reportedly linked to the “National Trust reformist party.
