Iran
Website shut down by courtPosted Oct 20 2007
Iran's judiciary has shut down the offices of a popular news website, Baztab.com after it was critical of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, reported Reuters on Sept. 24.
The site, published in both English and Farsi, has reported on Iran’s nuclear industry, on corruption, and has criticized President Ahmadinejad's for his decision to hold a conference questioning the veracity of the Holocaust.
The site was first closed down in February, but was still available to Internet users outside Iran until its offices were sealed.
The offices reopened in March, but the owners of the website have been in conflict with the Iranian government ever since.
Reporters Without Borders reported that the Iranian parliament began discussing on Sept. 23 whether websites should be regulated in the same way as other media outlets.
Under Ahmadinejad's rule, shutdowns have affected not only moderate dailies such as Shargh and Ham Mihan, but also conservative publications, including ultra-hard-line Siyasat-e Ruz and the governmental Iran newspaper.