Iran editor faces trial after printing ex-president's photo

The managing editor of a prominent daily newspaper in Iran will face trial for defying a ban on coverage of Mohammad Khatami, a former reformist president now described by authorities as a "seditionist," the judiciary spokesman said Sunday.

Mahmoud Doaei, a well-respected editor at Ettela'at, one of Iran's oldest newspapers, was summoned Sunday for a second round of questioning before the case is handed to a court for trial, Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi said.

Ejehi said a ban on covering "seditionist leaders" ordered by Iran's Supreme National Security Council, remains in place. Moderates say there is no official ban and that the order was unilaterally imposed by hard-liners.

"The instruction (banning coverage) remains unchanged," Ejehi said, according to state TV. "Anybody acting against this instruction will be prosecuted the same way Doaei is prosecuted."

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4738854,00.html