Iran reformist daily banned day after relaunch

Just a day after Iran's reformist daily, Yas No, returned to news-stands following a six year ban it was prevented from publishing, the ISNA news agency reported on Sunday.

Publication of Yas No (New Jasmine) was stopped in response to a "request" from Tehran prosecutor Saeed Mortazavi whose complaint six years ago led to the closure of the newspaper, Deputy Culture Minister Ali Reza Malekian said.

The newspaper was relaunched on Saturday.

 Mortazavi wrote a letter on Saturday, saying he was one of the main complainants against the newspaper and that the judge's decision was not communicated to him so that he can appeal 

Deputy Culture Minister Ali Reza Malekian

"Mortazavi wrote a letter on Saturday, saying he was one of the main complainants against the newspaper (six years ago) and that the judge's decision (taken a few months ago authorizing the relaunch) was not communicated to him so that he can appeal," Malekian said.

Mortazavi has now filed an appeal and publication of the newspaper has been stopped at his request, the deputy minister said.

Yas No is seen as close to reformist former president Mohammad Khatami.

It was banned by the judiciary six years ago when it published a letter from reformist members of parliament questioning supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's role in the mass disqualification of candidates in the 2004 parliamentary election.

The judiciary is dominated by conservatives and closed scores of reformist titles during Khatami's presidency between 1997 and 2005.

Iran goes to the polls on June 12 for a presidential election in which Khatami is backing moderate former prime minister Mir Hossein Mousavi against hard-line incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.