The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s Press Supervisory Board “suspended” ‎the publication permits of nine weeklies and monthlies, including “Donya’e Tasvir,” a ‎film magazine on the day of its 17th year of publication. ‎

According to a statement released by the Press Supervisory Board, nine publications ‎including three weeklies, “Talash,” “Be Sooye Eftekhar,” and “Neda’e Iran,” three ‎biweeklies, “Donya’e Tasvir,” “Havar,” and “Sobh-e Zendegi,” and three monthlies, ‎‎“Haft,” “Shoka,” and “Baznegari” were suspended pursuant to the Esfand 20 [March 10] ‎meeting of the Board. The statement also noted that 13 other publications were warned ‎over compliance with the Press Law and general aims of the media. ‎

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance refers on its statement to the suspended ‎publications as “cinematic and tabloid magazines,” a term that has no legal or judicial ‎reference and is not defined by the Press Law. ‎

Though in the past two years the permits of more than 63 newspapers, weeklies and ‎monthlies have been suspended by the Ministry’s Press Supervisory Board, the Board's ‎recent statements notes “general” and “unprecedented” reasons behind the most recent ‎suspension of 9 publications. ‎

The publications were shut down for publishing photos of artists “as instruments [to ‎arouse people’s desire], publishing details of their decadent private lives, propagating ‎medicines without authorization, promoting superstitions,” “publishing material offensive ‎to public morality” and “materials offensive to Iranian ethnicities.” ‎

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance’s press office, which announced the news ‎of the most recent suspensions, noted that a number of publications received warnings for ‎the above referenced violations, and also for not observing national interests in accepting ‎advertisements, especially in the fields of tourism, economics, and banking. ‎

The Ministry also accused press editors of damaging public interests and undermining the ‎norms of professional journalism. ‎

The editors of “Donya’e Tasvir” and “Haft” said that they received notices of respective ‎publication's suspension from the Ministry on Sunday and added that Article 11 of the ‎Press Law was referenced as the reason behind the suspension. ‎

According to Article 11 of the Press Law, “The Press Supervisory Board is responsible ‎for examining applications for press licenses and the competency of the applicant and the ‎managing director.”‎

In other words, the Press Supervisory Board implicitly evoked “not being qualified to ‎receive a publication permit” as the reason behind the suspension of these publications. ‎This is an unprecedented development in the history of Iranian journalism. ‎

Attorney and member of the Legal Board of the Iranian Association of Journalists, ‎Kambiz Norouzi, told ISNA yesterday, “The main portion of what is written in the report ‎of the Ministry of Culture’s Press Supervisory Board does not fall under the authority of ‎that Board by law.” ‎