Iran’s Tyranny on Display Again

Iran’s highest religious court has sentenced Abdullah Nouri, a leading advocate of reform, to five years in prison and shut down his popular newspaper, an important voice in the campaign for greater democracy. Nouri was convicted of publishing reports that insult officials and institutions, reporting lies and waging propaganda, publishing stories contrary to religious principles, supporting relations with the United States and urging recognition of Israel. In short, Nouri, himself a member of the clergy, was bold enough to say and do things the ruling theocratic elite find intolerable. For that he has been silenced.

President Mohammad Khatami, elected as a reformer 30 months ago, has expressed sympathy for Nouri but indicated he won’t intervene in his behalf. Recently identified as the target in an assassination plot, Khatami apparently feels it would be imprudent for now to further distance himself from supreme leader Ali Khamenei and the other reactionary clerics who under the Islamic constitution have the final say in Iranian affairs.

Parliamentary elections scheduled for February could see substantial support for further reform. If a fair election is allowed, candidates favoring a freer, less clergy-dominated society might still triumph. The remarkable 70% of the vote by which Khatami was elected in 1997 was undeniable evidence that most Iranians have grown weary and resentful of the restrictions they are compelled to abide.

Iran has become an increasingly younger country over the last two decades; a majority of Iranians have no memory of life before the Islamic revolution. The repression they know is imposed by the mullahs. Their generation was most responsible for electing Khatami, and they remain the largest constituency favoring change. Nouri, on ample evidence, accused the reigning clergy of betraying the principles of the revolution by replacing one tyranny with another. Their response further demonstrated the truth of that charge.