Iran parliament bars al-Jazeera journalists after al-Sistani “insult” 7 May 2007
Posted by foray in Bila Hudud, crackdown, iran, iraq.trackback
The Iranian parliament has banned al-Jazeera correspondents from its premises after accusing the host of one of the channel’s talkshows of insulting Iraqi Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.
Bila Hudud (Without Borders) presenter Ahmed Mansour was said to have questioned al-Sistani’s leadership credentials.
Parliamentary speaker Gholam Ali Hadad Adel said: “Parliament has decided to prevent al-Jazeera journalists from entering until this network makes a formal apology for insulting Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.”
“We consider this act as a plot of the enemies of Iraq. Al-Jazeera has insulted Ayatollah Sistani because it is well aware of his role in keeping Iraq united.”
After several Iraqi Shia rallies in Basra and Najaf, al-Jazeera editor-in-chief Ahmed al-Sheikh said: “There was no offence directed at al-Sistani and al-Jazeera doesn’t approve of offending anyone. We have the utmost respect and appreciation of all religious leaders, foremost of whom is al-Sistani.”
[...] media. trackback Iran has lefted its restrictions on al-Jazeera reporters, in the aftermath of the Bila Hudud al-Sistani ‘insult’ incident. Director of Foreign Media at Iran’s Ministry of Culture Mohsen Moqaddaszadeh said: The [...]