According to Iran-Emrooz, the Iran's largest electronic publication, the
Sout-el-Shaab
(Voice of the People) newspaper has been shut down by the Iranian regime without warning.
The newspaper was published in Ahwaz, with pages in both Arabic and Farsi. It had its accreditation withdrawn without warning after four years of publication.
The Iranian Ministry of Culture gave no reasons for the action. The publisher, Hassan Hashemian, an Ahwazi Arab, is baffled by the government's censorship of his newspaper, which had followed a progressive and moderate line in support of the cultural rights of indigenous Ahwazi Arabs in Iran.
The British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS), which supports independent media projects in Ahwaz, condemns what is yet another example of state oppression of Ahwazi Arabs and the government's desire to eliminate Arab culture.
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keywords: ahvaz ahwaz ahwazi khuzestan khuzistan khuzestani arab arabistan iran iranian human rights security oil news ahmadinejad ethnic cleansing
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Friday, August 19, 2005
Iran's Assault on Press Freedom
