March 30
Khatami's brother summoned by press court
TEHRAN, March 30 (AFP) - Mohammad-Reza Khatami, brother of the Iranian
president and publisher of the reformist daily Mosharekat (Participation),
was summoned Thursday to appear before the country's press court, IRNA
reported. Khatami has been named as a defendant in a "private defamation
and libel suit," and is to stand trial "next week, perhaps later
next month," the official news agency said without further comment
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Human rights reform in Iran an irreversible trend: UN
GENEVA, March 30 (AFP) - Reform of Iran's human rights situation is
an irreversible trend and is expected to pick up speed, while a sense of
accountability is also emerging, a UN rapporteur said Thursday. But resistance
to change in Iran still exists, a fact made clear by press reports, in
themselves a reflection of freedom of expression, special representative
Maurice Danby Copithorne told journalists >>>
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March 29
Reformer summoned to court over "shadow government" charges
TEHRAN, March 29 (AFP) - A leading activist in the Iranian reform movements
has been summoned to appear before Tehran's revolutionary court over charges
that the nation is being run by a bloodthirsty "shadow government",
press reports said Wednesday. Journalist Emadeddin Baghi has alleged that
a murky network of secret agents is operating inside the police, intelligence
services, state media and the elite Revolutionary Guards, functioning as
a parallel power that controls the Islamic republic >>>
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March 27
Reformers stepping up charges that "shadow government"
in control
TEHRAN, March 27 (AFP) - Iranian reformers behind President Mohammad
Khatami are mounting charges that the nation is being run by a bloodthirsty
"shadow government" after an attempt on the life of a close Khatami
ally. They say a murky network of secret agents is operating inside the
police, intelligence services, state media and the elite Revolutionary
Guards, functioning as a parallel power that controls the Islamic republic
>>>
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March 26
Reformers say conservatives blocking inquiry into shooting
TEHRAN, March 26 (AFP) - Iranian reformers on Sunday renewed accusations
that the regime's conservatives are trying to cover up the investigation
into the assassination attempt on a leading pro-reform activist. Mohammad-Reza
Khatami, head of the largest reform party and brother of President Mohammad
Khatami, also rejected charges that reformers were linked to the shooting
of Said Hajarian, still fighting for his life in a Tehran hospital >>> FULL
TEXT
March 25
Suspects in Hajarian murder bid to face special Iranian court
TEHRAN, March 25 (AFP) - The alleged attacker of Iranian reformist Said
Hajarian and five people accused of helping him will be tried before a
special Islamic court, Iranian state radio reported Saturday. "It
is a special judge and a special court that have been appointed to judge
the authors of this attack," said the report, referring to an exchange
of letters on the matter between the senior court officials. The report
did not say when the trial would take place >>>
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March 24
Beirut hostage awarded millions
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former hostage Terry Anderson was awarded $341 million
from Iran on Friday by a federal judge who said his treatment during his
nearly seven years of captivity in Beirut was ``savage and cruel by any
civilized standards.'' U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson ordered
Iran to pay $24.5 million to Anderson, $10 million to his wife, Madeleine
Bassil, and $6.7 million to their daughter, Sulome. The judge also ordered
the Iranian Ministry of Information and Security to pay the three $300
million in punitive damages.>>>
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March 22
Reformist press hits at news black-out on Hajjarian affair
TEHRAN, March 22 (AFP) - The Iranian government has imposed a black-out
on news on the assassination attempt against reformist politician Said
Hajarian, two reformist dailies, including Hajarian's own, said Wednesday.
"Official sources have banned the national media from publishing unofficial
news. For this reason today newpapers were unable to publish solid, but
unofficial news," Sobh-e Emruz, Hajarian's paper, said >>> FULL TEXT
News during Noruz
Tehran (Iran daily) - Iranian newspapers traditionally close down for
the Noruz holidays. Not this year. Not the reformist papers at least >>>
FULL TEXT IN PERSIAN
March 21
Student gunman shot Hajjarian: IRNA
TEHRAN, March 21 (AFP) - The gunman who shot leading Iranian reformer
Said Hajarian is a student at a Tehran university led by a top conservative,
the official IRNA news agency said Tuesday. Citing the head of the investigation,
it named Said Asghar as the gunman responsible for the March 12 shooting
of Hajarian, a close ally of President Mohammad Khatami and a leading force
behind Iran's pro-reform movement >>>
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Gunmen in Hajjarian shooting identified
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The Intelligence Ministry on Tuesday identified
a university student as the gunman in the attack on a leading Iranian reformist.
Iranian television quoted the official in charge of the investigation as
saying chemistry student Saeed Asgar shot Saeed Hajjarian, a city councilman
and confidant of President Mohammad Khatami, on March 12 >>>
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Hajjarian's paper blasts murderous "shadow government"
TEHRAN, March 21 (AFP) - Most Iranians believe there is a murderous
"shadow government" that holds the true power in the nation,
said a pro-reform newspaper Tuesday whose chief is fighting for his life
after an assassination attempt. The claim in the Sobh-e-Emruz daily comes
as its director Said Hajarian, a close ally of President Mohammad Khatami
and a leader in the reform movement, is still in hospital after being gunned
down in broad daylight last week >>>
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March 20
Six men arrested in Iran shooting
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Six men have been arrested in the shooting of reformist
Saeed Hajjarian, Iran's security agency announced Monday. The agency offered
no information on the suspects' motives. One of the suspects has confessed
to shooting Hajjarian in the face on March 12, according to the Supreme
National Security Council, the nation's top security body >>>
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Khatami orders speedier inquiry into shooting of Hajjarian
TEHRAN, March 20 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has ordered
police to speed up their investigation into the near-fatal shooting of
a close ally and leading reformist, the official IRNA news agency reported
Monday. It said Khatami issued a directive for a faster inquiry into the
March 12 shooting of Said Hajarian by two gunmen who sped off on a high-powered
motorbike of a type restricted here to government agencies >>> FULL TEXT
March 16
Author of death threat against Hajjarian arrested: press
TEHRAN, March 16 (AFP) - The alleged author of a death threat against
leading Iranian reformist Said Hajarian before Sunday's attempt on his
life has been arrested, a press report said Thursday, quoting a government
official. The daily Kar-o Karegar, quoting an official of the intelligence
ministry, said the man was named Ahmadi, but gave no further information
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March 15
German editors return to Iran for book fair in sign of thawing relations
FRANKFURT, March 15 (AFP) - For the first time in a decade, German editors
plan to attend a book fair in Tehran in May, in the latest sign of a thawing
in bilateral relations. The editors will attend the Tehran Book Fair from
May 4-14, organizers of the Frankfurt Book Fair said in a communique >>> FULL
TEXT
March 14
Reformers blame hard-liners for violence
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian political factions closed ranks on Tuesday
to condemn the shooting of a prominent reformer, but they split over blame
as reformists accused hard-liners of provoking the attack with inflammatory
speeches. Reformers close to President Mohammad Khatami singled out Ayatollah
Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, a hard-liner known for his strident attacks
on democracy and attempts to justify violence to stop reforms which he
sees as threats to Islamic values. >>>
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March 13
Reformers rally behind stricken leader, Hajjarian
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's broad reformist movement vowed on Monday to
press on with its campaign for change, undeterred by an assassin's bullet
that left one of its leading lights fighting for his life in a Tehran hospital.
In an outpouring of support for Saeed Hajjarian, one of the architects
of the movement and a close ally of President Mohammad Khatami, politicians,
clerics and newspaper editors said the shooting represented the cost of
reforming the Islamic system >>>
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President Khatami visits Hajarian in hospital
TEHRAN, March 13 (AFP) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami rushed straight
from the airport to the bedside of prominent reformist Said Hajarian, critically
injured in a shooting, on his return from a regional tour Monday. Khatami,
accompanied by Health Minister Mohammad Farhadi, spent 10 minutes with
Hajarian and came out looking "extremely sad," journalists at
the hospital said. >>>
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March 9
Dissident case judge repalced
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - The government has replaced the judge and investigators
looking into the 1998 murders of five political dissidents, an Iranian
newspaper reported Thursday. No reason was given for the decision, the
Hamshahri daily said, quoting an official Islamic Republic News Agency
report that said the investigation has taken more than a year because of
its complexity and ``sabotage.'' >>>
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March 6
Moderate Iranian daily suspends publication
TEHRAN, March 6 (AFP) - The editor of the moderate daily Arya (Aryan),
which the courts forced off the news stands for two weeks last January,
confirmed Monday that the newspaper had suspended publication until further
notice >>>
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March 2
Newspaper calls for legalization of satellite TV dishes
TEHRAN, March 2 (AFP) - An Iranian newspaper called Thursday for the
newly elected pro-reform parliament to reverse the ban on satellite television
dishes so the country can join the 21st century. "The whole argument
boils down to this fact that today satellite reception is not a luxury
reserved for a handful of privileged individuals, but a prodigious necessity,"
the government-sponsored Iran News said in an editorial.>>>
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