Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s media advisor has been sentenced to one year in prison and a three-year ban from media activities.
Iranian media report that the director of IRNA has been found guilty of “publishing material against Islamic principles in the Khatoon special issue.”
The Khatoon special issue carried material regarding the Islamic dress code for women and other issues concerning women’s place in Islam. He has been sentenced to six months for the text and another six months for the pictures in the issue.
Javanfekr was acquitted of “demeaning and insulting the female gender.” However, the three-year ban from journalism stems from that charge.
Javanfekr’s lawyer, Abdollah Nakhai, told Mehr News Agency that his client is innocent of all the charges, and he will challenge the court’s decision.
Nakhai added that the sentence has not been officially communicated to Javanfekr and they only heard of it through the media. He said: “The court should have considered Mr. Javanfekr’s reputation and commitment to the law and Islamic principles.”
He called the court’s decision “an insult” to his client.
The Khatoon issue was mildly critical of morality police pressuring women over their outfits.
The Tehran Prosecutor filed a suit against Javanfekr for “hurting public morality and behaviour.”
