Document #1271049
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Author)
According to The Europa World Year Book
1995, the Iranian press law of 1979 states that "offences against
the Act will be tried in the criminal courts" (p. 1551-52). A 1994
Reporters sans frontières study on freedom of the press in
Iran mentions the case of one journalist who in 1992 was sentenced
by "the revolutionary tribunal in charge of press crimes"
(1994,169). This document is available at the Regional
Documentation Centres. More recently it was reported that
publication of the monthly magazine Gardoon was suspended on 30
January 1996, and its director, Abbas Ma'aroufi, sentenced by a
civil tribunal to a six-month prison term, 35 lashes and a two-year
suspension from publishing or practicing journalism (Courrier
International 8-14 Feb. 1996, 25; AFP 30 Jan. 1996). Ma'aroufi
reportedly told the BBC that the jury that tried him was composed
of "journalists" (Courrier International 8-14 Feb. 1996, 25). For
further details on the press law in Iran, including proposed
amendments, please see the attachment from Hamshahri, which
provides a transcript of an interview with an official of the
guidance ministry. According to Human Rights Watch, if adopted,
these changes "would allow the executive to encroach on the powers
of the judiciary, and would further restrict the freedom of the
press (December 1995, 227).
This Response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Agence France Presse (AFP). 30 January
1996. "Watchdog Protests Suspension of Iranian Magazine."
(NEXIS)
Courrier International [Paris]. 8-14
February 1996. "Six mois de prison et trente-cinq coups de
fouet!"
The Europa World Year Book 1995. 1995.
36th ed. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications.
Reporters sans frontières. 1994.
Freedom of the Press Throughout the World: 1994 Report. London:
John Libbey.
Hamshahri [Tehran, in Persian]. 4 May
1995. "Guidance Ministry Official on Revised Press Law."
(FBIS-NES-95-102 26 May 1995, pp. 54-56)
Human Rights Watch (HRW). December 1995.
Human Rights Watch World Report 1996. New York: Human Rights
Watch.
Agence France Presse (AFP). 10 July
1996. "Iranian Writer Seeks Refuge in Germany." (NEXIS)
_____. 30 January 1996. "Watchdog
Protests Suspension of Iranian Magazine." (NEXIS)
Courrier International [Paris]. 8-14
February 1996. "Six mois de prison et trente-cinq coups de fouet!",
p. 25.
The Europa World Year Book 1995. 1995.
36th ed. Vol. 1. London: Europa Publications, pp. 1551-52.
Hamshahri [Tehran, in Persian]. 4 May
1995. "Guidance Ministry Official on Revised Press Law."
(FBIS-NES-95-102 26 May 1995, pp. 54-56)