- Shargh
Infobox_Newspaper
name = Shargh
type = Dailynewspaper
format =
foundation = 2002
owners =
political =
headquarters =Tehran
editor =Mohammad Ghouchani
website = [http://www.sharghnewspaper.com/ http://www.sharghnewspaper.com ] |"Shargh" (شرق in Persian, meaning "East" in English) is the most popular reformist newspaper in
Iran . It is managed byMehdi Rahmanian , and its chief editor wasMohammad Ghouchani in its first period of publication. Mohammad Ghouchani andMohammad Atrianfar , its ex-head of "Policy-making Council", leave Shargh in March 2007 and joinedHam-Mihan , another reformist newspaper managed byGholamhossein Karbaschi .Some people claimWho|date=October 2007 that the newspaper has a hidden agenda of helping the political goals of the
Executives of Construction Party ("Hezb-e Kaargozaaraan-e Saazandegi"), including trying to nominateAkbar Hashemi Rafsanjani for the2005 Iranian presidential election and then making him win the popular vote.Temporary ban
Shargh had published 141 editions before the temporary ban by the Iranian judiciary system on
February 18 ,2004 , one day before the parliament election, after publishing an open letter from some members of the outgoing parliament toAyatollah Khamenei , theSupreme Leader . The letter was read to journalists byMohsen Armin , one of the organizers of the MPs sit-in criticizing the vettings of theCouncil of Guardians .The situation got more interesting when
Mehdi Rahmanian , "Shargh"'s manager in charge, met Saeed Mortazavi ,Tehran 's general prosecutor, the next day to discuss a removal of the ban. After that, Rahmanian wrote a public letter asking for forgiveness, telling that he couldn't confirm that the letter was actually from the MPs and signed by them, and that even in the case it was, it would have been a non-professional act to publish "offensive" texts.Mortazavi had announced that he had ordered the ban because of a request by the High Council of National Security, which
Hassan Rowhani , the council's chair, andMohammad Khatami , the president, later denied onFebruary 20 andFebruary 23 respectively, mentioning the matter was not even discussed at the council's meeting.The ban was removed on
February 28 ,2004 , and "Shargh" was published again fromMarch 3 ,2004 .Shargh was shut down again on
September 11 ,2006 by the Iranian government. [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1533773,00.html]In March 2007, Iran's hardline judiciary allowed a number of banned reformist dailies to republish, including the flagship centrist daily Shargh after a half-year ban. [http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1533773,00.html]
External links
* [http://www.sharghnewspaper.com Online version of the "Shargh" newspaper (in Persian)]
* [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/shows/iran/index.html PBS - Wide Angle: Red Lines and Deadlines]
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