Cartoon 52: Pre-Election Crackdown on Journalists

In the lead-up to the June 2013 presidential elections, restrictions on journalists have intensified over the last few months. Kaleme Website reported that the Intelligence Ministry recently summoned a meeting with newspaper editors. In that meeting, according to Kaleme, the Ministry warned the editors not to paint a “black picture” of the regime in the pre-election months. Kaleme further reported that an intelligence official explicitly forbade any news or analysis of the Supreme Leader, and threatened that any disagreement with him would not be tolerated. With six weeks to go before the election, these threats loom large over the Iranian press.