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Omid Memarian

o.memarian@roozonline.com

Badrossadat Mofidi is a journalist and the secretary of the Association of Iranian Journalists. In ‎an exclusive interview with Rooz, Mofidi discusses obstacles facing independent publications in ‎Iran. Below is an excerpt of this interview. ‎

Rooz (R): What is your opinion about the Press Oversight Committee's decision to announce the ‎suspension of daily Aria and Zanan before first forwarding the legal documents to the ‎publications?‎

Badrossadat Mofidi (BM): One of the trends that we see in the Press Oversight Committee since ‎the ninth administration began its term is that the Committee has declared war on the press. ‎Prior to this, the courts were in charge of confronting the press. But now the situation is different ‎and the Press Oversight Committee confronts the press itself. Another unprecedented thing we ‎are witnessing is that suspension verdicts are announced in media outlets affiliated with the ‎government before they are forwarded to the owners and staff of the suspended publication. ‎

‎(R): What is the opinion and stance of the Association of Iranian Journalists on the behavior of ‎the Press Oversight Committee? ‎

‎(BM): The Association recently published a statement protesting the suspension of Zanan and ‎general behavior of the Press Oversight Committee. In particular, the statement brought up the ‎point that since the inception of the ninth administration, the Press Oversight Committee has ‎become dominated by members of a certain political faction, as a result of which the Committee ‎has begun to limit freedom of the press. For instance, we see that a great number of people have ‎submitted requests to obtain permits for publication, but the Committee ignores their requests ‎and refuses to respond to them. Furthermore, it suspends or shuts down whatever few ‎independent publications are remaining. On the other hand, we see people who are affiliated ‎with the government or who share similar viewpoints obtain permits quite easily. ‎

‎(R): What is the relationship between the Association of Iranian Journalists and the Press ‎Oversight Committee? Have you attempted to share your concerns with members of the ‎Committee?‎

‎(BM): We look at these issues from the point of view of protecting the rights of journalists. The ‎Association of Iranian Journalists is a union that seeks to protect the interests and rights of ‎journalists, and alleviate their problems, whether economic or spiritual, from housing to ‎protecting their identity. When a publication is shut down, journalists working there lose their ‎jobs. When journalists lose employment, it is out duty to ask the government to create an ‎environment in which those journalist can resume their work. Since we are seeking to protect ‎the rights of journalists, we are glad to speak with members of the Press Oversight Committee - ‎as you suggest - or even with the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, or essentially any ‎governmental or non-governmental organization that can assist us in improving the living ‎conditions of journalists. Unfortunately though, for the past year and a half government officials ‎have been refusing to have any sort of discussion with the Association of Iranian Journalists. ‎Meanwhile, journalists are waiting in vain. The government has simply shut the door to ‎discussion. ‎