DATE=11/16/1999 TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT TITLE=IRAN / PRESS FREEDOM NUMBER=5-44770 BYLINE=SCOTT BOBB DATELINE=CAIRO CONTENT= VOICED AT: ///// ED'S: OFFICIAL VERDICT IN NOURI CASE IS EXPECTED WITHIN ONE WEEK. ///// INTRO: In Iran, the judge of a special religious court is preparing to deliver a verdict in the trial of a popular politician and publisher charged with insulting Islam and other offenses. A panel of supreme court judges has recommended a guilty verdict after the public portion of the trial of Abdollah Nouri ended abruptly following a week of stormy testimony. Middle East Correspondent Scott Bobb reports the trial is being seen as a major battle between conservative and reformist politicians who are jockeying for power prior to Iran's parliamentary elections in three-months. TEXT: For nearly two-weeks, television viewers in Iran have followed with fascination as a leading reformist politician and clergyman, Abdollah Nouri, questioned some of the basic tenets of Iran's strict Islamic form of government. Mr. Nouri, a former vice-president and interior minister, vehemently defended himself and his "Khordad" newspaper against charges of a variety of offenses against Islam. Moreover, he went on the offensive, attacking the special court that was trying him as unconstitutional and its judge as unqualified. Mr. Nouri was tried before the Special Court of the Clergy, established by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to judge religious leaders who are accused of deviating from the principles of Islam. But since the election of reformist President Mohammed Khatami two- years ago, conservative political factions have used the court to silence popular reformists. A professor of political science at Cairo's American University, Bahman Baktiari, says the Nouri trial is the most important event in Iranian politics since student riots last July. The riots erupted following the closure of the "Salam" reformist newspaper and the conviction of its editor in the same Special Court of the Clergy. /// BAKTIARI ACT ONE /// What Nouri did, it brought to the attention of the public on a large scale as well as members of the ruling elite that maybe the time for a Special Court of Clergy has arrived to either become constitutional or become dissolved. /// END ACT /// Four important reformist newspapers have been closed in recent months. These include "Neshat", whose publisher received a 30-month suspended sentence, and "Asr-e Azadegan", whose editor, Mashaallah Shamsolvaezin, is currently on trial. The international group Human Rights Watch last month said the press has become a human-rights victim of the political struggle in Iran and called for laws to protect it. Mr. Nouri previously published two other newspapers, which were closed by the government. He says if "Khordad" is closed, he will start up another newspaper. Professor Baktiari explains this practice is common in Iran, because newspaper publishing is part of politics. /// BAKTIARI ACT TWO /// It is a struggle. It is a struggle to get your viewpoint heard. And newspapers are the platform for it. The conservatives shut it because they view the reformists have too many platforms. The reformists start another one. So it is a continuous struggle. It is not so much of a freedom of press, I think. It is a political struggle between political factions and parties. /// END ACT /// Mr. Nouri was elected head of Tehran's City Council, after winning the most votes in city elections last February. But he resigned to run for parliament and the post of speaker. Political observers charge his trial is aimed primarily at keeping him out of the race. Reformists are hoping to win control of the parliament in the elections in February. But a screening committee dominated by conservative clerics has the power to disqualify candidates on religious grounds. The committee is expected to try to sideline the most- popular reformist candidates. As a result, the press has become a major battleground as political rivalries heat up prior to the campaign. (SIGNED) NEB/SB/JWH 16-Nov-1999 09:28 AM EDT (16-Nov-1999 1428 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
