Media Ban on Khatami

February 23, 2015

On February 16, judiciary spokesperson Gholamhossein Mohseni-Eje’i confirmed that former President Mohammad Khatami’s name has been banned from mention in the media. Mohseni-Eje’i did not name Khatami, president from 1997 to 2005, by name, instead referring to him as “the leader of the reformist government.” The spokesperson did not say exactly when the order had gone into effect but emphasized that the judiciary has the ability to rule on issues regarding “the leaders of the sedition,” a term that refers to Khatami as well as opposition leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi, his wife Zahra Rahnavard and Mehdi Karroubi.

But Iranians have taken to social media sites Facebook and Twitter, both of which are blocked in Iran, to protest the ban. A campaign using the hashtag, “We will be Khatami’s media,” has been launched. Its Facebook group (cover photo below) had more than 39,000 likes as of February 23, and its Twitter account had more than 272 followers.

The death of Khatami’s sister, Fatemeh, and the large turnout for her funeral on February 22 posed a challenge to the ban. She had served on the city council of the family's hometown of Ardakan. Several prominent leaders issued statements or sent condolences to Khatami, so newspapers did publish his name.

Shargh, a reformist-leaning daily, published a story (left) on President Hassan Rouhani offering condolences to Khatami.

Many people have continued to post pictures and comments in support of the reformist president. The following are some examples from Twitter.
 
 
The caption below reads “Remember hope.”
 
Some people posted pictures of both Khatami and Mousavi, one of the leaders of the Green Movement protests following the disputed 2009 presidential election.