Last Update

June 14, 2020

Organisation

Unknown

Gender

Male

Ethnic Group

Unknown

Religoius Group

Muslim

Province

Tehran

Occupation

Journalist

Sentence

Fine instead of imprisonment

Status

Released

Institution investigating

Judiciary

Charges

Blasphemy
Dissemination content contrary to public chastity

Abbas Bozorgmehr Released

Abbas Bozorgmehr is the founder and managing editor of the Asemon (Sky) newspaper and was arrested in February, 2014.

The newspaper was established on the 15th of February 2014. Five days after publication began, Iran’s government seized the publication and issued an arrest warrant for the managing editor. Bozorgmehr was apprehended the same day. The court eventually ruled that he could pay a fine instead of serving a jail sentence.

 

On February 18th 2014, Asemon published a report entitled ‘Political Science during the Difficult Times’ in which a group of professors and students told their stories from the 1980s and of the sociopolitical atmosphere of that time. One of the stories was told by Davoud Hermidas-Bavand, the Spokesperson of the National Front, and was about how the organization issued a statement against retaliation (qisas in sharia law). The article, entitled ‘The Inhumane Retaliation’ resulted in harsh criticism from the conservatives and eventually ended the short life of the paper.

Asemon’s editor in chief, Mohammad Ghouchani, said that the reference to ‘inhumane’ was supposed to have been deleted and had been sent to the final print by mistake.

 

Parliamentarian Ali Motahari, who is also a member of the Media Monitoring Council, did not like the fact that there had been no coordination with the Council on Asemon’s seizure, stating: “Such a fast prosecution of journalists and newspapers is suitable only [during] the time of war, [and] we are not at war.”

 

Four days later, Bozorgmehr was released on a bail of US$100,000. The court date was set for August 3rd, 2014, and took place at the 79th branch of Tehran Province Criminal Court, with Judge Mohammadreza Mohammadi-Kashkooli of the 79th branch of Tehran Province Criminal Court presiding over the court. The charges were ‘publication of contents in contrast with Islamic law’ and ‘distribution of contents promoting public indecency’. The jury found Bozorgmehr guilty of both charges.

 

In November 2014, Judge Mohammadreza Mohammadi-Kashkooli informed the media of the indictment, stating: “Based on the court sentencing, the managing editor, Mr Abbas Bozorgmehr was sentenced to pay a fine instead of going to jail.”

 

The amount of the fine was never publicly disclosed.

Please, enter a valid email