Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Iran Newspaper Head Jailed for 'Insulting' Little Mahmoud

Laughing at the pipsqueak is apparently a no-no.

Imagine if they insulted his wife?
Iran's judiciary on Tuesday ordered the arrest of the director of a leading reformist newspaper over an article attacking President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for his remarks on the Shiites' "hidden imam."

Mohammad Javad Haghshenas, director of Etemad Melli newspaper, has been issued with an order for arrest and investigation on charges of spreading lies and publishing "an insulting piece", a spokesman for Tehran public and revolutionary courts told the ISNA student agency.

The spokesman said the "insulting" article was written by mid-ranking cleric Rasoul Montajab-Nia in Tuesday's edition of Etemad Melli (National Confidence) -- the newspaper of a reformist party with the same name.

In the article, Montajab-Nia listed several comments attributed to Ahmadinejad on the twelfth imam, known as the Mahdi, who Shiites believe disappeared more than a thousand years ago and will return one day to usher in a new era of peace and harmony [and probably some hope and change as well -- ed.].

"The president and his advisors are frequently heard to say that this government is managed by the imam," wrote Montajab-Nia who is also a senior member of the Etemad Melli party.

"Such rumours weaken people's beliefs and lead to ridicule by the enemies of Islam and Shiism," he said.

"If these are true, what do you mean by saying such unreal things? Do you think such remarks can justify the government's mismanagement in the face of people's discontent and complaints about inflation?" he asked.

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