Judge Orders Kayhan Closed; Enforcement in doubt

Mahmoud Alizadeh Tabatabai, the lawyer of opposition leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi’s top aide Alireza Beheshti, confirmed on Thursday that a judge has ordered the closure of leading hardliner daily Kayhan after Beheshti filed a complaint against the newspaper, BBC Persian reports. “The judge ordered the closure after Kayhan’s editor Hossein Shariatmadari failed twice to appear in court,” Alizadeh Tabatabai said. Kayhan, whose editor is appointed by the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, has accused Beheshti and other reformists of working for foreign intelligence agencies.
“It is now up to the Tehran’s Prosecutor, Saeed Mortazavi to decide whether or not the ban should be applied, but I do not expect the Prosecutor to do so,” the lawyer said.