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TEHRAN - Iran banned a recently launched pro-reform newspaper on Tuesday, the publisher said, undermining what some had seen as a fragile revival for publications that have been more critical of the government.
Ham Mihan (Compatriot) was published in May, reviving a title closed along with dozens of others in a 2000 crackdown on the pro-reform press. Another pro-reform daily, Sharq (East), which was closed last year, also republished in May.
Journalists say they have to tread carefully between a growing number of "red lines" to avoid closure. Interviewed a week after its launch, the Ham Mihan editor would not predict how long his daily would last.
"It won't be published from tomorrow (Wednesday)," Ham Mihan publisher Gholamhossein Karbaschi, said, adding the ban was based on a problem with the legal process involved in republishing the daily. He did not give further details.
Asked if he was hopeful the newspaper would reopen, he said: "It depends on the judiciary."
Some had seen the republication of Sharq and Ham Mihan as a fragile recovery for the liberal-leaning press. Some pro-reform and moderate newspapers, including Sharq, are still publishing.
But critics say the authorities have become increasingly intolerant of any dissenting voices, turning the screws on activists who include pro-reform students, campaigners on women's issues and labour movement figures.
- REUTERS
