Iranian Press Law

New York, September 9, 2011--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the forced closure of two independent Iranian newspapers on Monday and the arrest of an Iranian writer in the city of Tabriz.

In July and August, Shahrvand-e Emrooz (Today's Citizen), a reformist weekly, ran two covers depicting President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a satirical light. The paper was banned indefinitely under Article 6 of the Iranian Press Law, which prohibits "insulting legal or real persons who are lawfully respected, even by means of pictures or caricatures," the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran (ICHRI) reported.