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Iran: News agency closed for 'false' reporting
June (AKI) - Iran has suspended the semi-official FARS news agency for three days for what it claims is the 'false reporting' of the pending removal of a banking official.The government on Monday closed the agency for 72 hours after reporting that the governor of Iran's central 'Markazi' bank, Tahmasb Mazaheri, would be removed for criticising Iran's economic policies. "The temporary closure of FARS shows that with each passing day, there is a lower tolerance of government critics and that after silencing many dissident voices, now they are 'cleaning up' their own ranks," said Mashaollah Shamsolvaezin, spokesman for the Association for Freedom of the Press in Iran, in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI). Mazaheri was alleged to have harshly criticised Iran's monetary policies as the official inflation rate reached 20 percent. Iranian authorities denied he would be replaced and FARS then also denied the story. FARS is considered to be supportive of the government of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. "Reading between the lines of this measure, we can see that the government is trying to transform the media into an 'official bulletin' office, depriving them of any possibility of providing information," concluded Shamsolvaezein Posted by: Fred 2008-06-03 |
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