Court Bans Opposition Group, Closes 4 Newspapers in Iran

Iran’s hard-line judiciary dealt a heavy blow Sunday to the country’s reform movement, banning the nation’s only real opposition group and closing down four pro-reform newspapers, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported.

Accusing Iran’s Freedom Movement of seeking to overthrow the Islamic establishment, the Tehran Revolutionary Court banned the group and threatened to prosecute offenders.

“I think the Islamic Republic as a system is strong and stable and any group that talks about its collapse is stupid and foolish,” political activist Farzaneh Roostayi said.

Meanwhile, four reformist papers were ordered to stop publishing because of their “numerous and continuous violations of the law,” state-run Tehran radio reported.

Roostayi said hard-liners were targeting reform movements ahead of presidential elections in June.

“They fear the people will again vote for and confirm their support of reforms,” said Roostayi, whose husband, prominent activist Reza Raiis Toosi, was arrested and jailed earlier this month.

In 1997, moderate Mohammad Khatami, promising social and political reforms, won the presidency in a landslide victory.

Quoting a court statement, IRNA said 21 activists arrested last week for conspiring to topple the Islamic establishment were linked to the Freedom Movement. Twelve remain in detention.

The movement, which advocates a democratic government based on Islamic ideology but not run by clerics, does not have legal status but had been tolerated by Iranian authorities.

Tehran radio said the four papers ordered closed were the daily Dowran-e Emrooz; two weeklies, Mobin and Jamee Madani; and the monthly Payam-e Emrooz.