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Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad holds up copies of the Koran (L) and the Bible as he addresses the 65th United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2010.

Iran's culture minister has admitted that book censorship was so tight under the previous government that they would have rejected even Islam's holy tract the Koran.

Ali Jannati told Iran's semi-official ILNA news agency that he had reviewed some of the rejected titles under the hard-line government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and come to the conclusion that in many cases censors picked put "irrelevant" issues.

Personal opinions and lack of expertise played a huge part in the censors' draconian attitude, according to Jannati, to the point that they would have banned the Koran, which Muslims believe is a direct revelation by God as it was verbally revealed from God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel.

"If the Koran hadn't been sent by God and we had handed it to book censors, they wouldn't have issued permission to publish it and would have argued that some of the words in it are against public virtue," he said.

However, Jannati said that book censorship will keep working in Iran. "How can we allow some problematic books to poison the society?" he asked.

Iranian writers and publishers, who are forced to submit their opus to the Culture Ministry before applying for publication, have long spoken out against the strict censorship rules.

Censors often bar books for contents they deem as immoral, anti-Islamic or politically sensitive.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported that that more than 200 Iranian writers, poets and translators called on Jannati to lift the censorship policy just a few days before his outstanding remarks.

Jannati was chosen by moderate cleric Hassan Rohani, who was elected president in June and has vowed to hand more freedom to Iranians.

Read the original post:
Iran: Ahmadinejad's Censorship 'Would Have Banned Koran'

Published on Oct 09, 2013 12:52 PM

ANKARA (AFP) - Prominent Turkish journalist Can Dundar says he misses the media censorship that followed a bloody 1980 military coup - at least then, journalists knew where they stood.

The 52-year-old, who was ousted this summer from the liberal paper where he had worked since 2001, believes that a new, more insidious form of censorship is silencing dissent at a crucial time for Turkey.

"As a journalist who witnessed the September 12 period, I can say I miss the censorship of that era. When a story was banned, a military official would tell you in the morning and the story would not be published," said Mr Dundar, referring to the aftermath of the 1980 coup.

Now, he said, media organisations including his former paper, Milliyet, are so fearful of repercussions that they self-censor.

Excerpt from:
Fears over self-censorship as pressure mounts on Turkish media

Global Voices Online

Since the late 20th century, many Southeast Asian countries have moved from military dictatorships and unelected governments to representative governance systems. While these transitions have brought many improvements to national law and government accountability, certain old ways still remain.

Both off and online, censorship is still enforced in several countries through the use of draconian laws and strict media regulation. Media groups have consistently decried certain controversial laws and regulations as tools of media repression in Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Singapore, and Myanmar.

Vietnam: Mass persecution of political bloggers

Thirty-five political bloggers are currently in prison in Vietnam. Continuingpersecutionsuffered by bloggers and dissidents has highlighted the urgent need to reform laws that govern speech and online content in Vietnam.

Article 88of the Criminal Code, which bans anti-state propaganda, is often used to detain individuals who oppose the government.Article 258of the Criminal Code punishes misuse of democratic freedoms to attack state interests and the legitimate rights and interests of collectives and individuals and carries a sentence of seven years in prison. Last year, the nations Prime Minister issued adirectiveordering a crackdown on reactionary blogs. Broadly speaking, vague provisions in the law allow authorities to make arbitrary arrests with little structure for accountability.

Early this month,Decree 72took effect, putting into force a law that many activists have described as the countrysharshest legal offensiveagainst freedom of information. The new regulation bans the sharing of news stories or so-calledcompiled information. But the government claims it is intended only toprotectintellectual property.

Apress cardsystem frequently is used to control mainstream media. Former journalist Pham Doan Trang explains further:

No card, no access. Without a press card, reporters cant hope to meet high-ranking officials, visit contacts at public offices or cover official conferences.

The State doesnt need to kill journalists to control the media because by and large, Vietnams press card-carrying journalists are not allowed to do work that is worth being killed for.

Continued here:
Southeast Asia: Dictatorships Are Gone, But Censorship Hangs On

By Golnaz Esfandiari, RFE/RL

Iranian Culture Minister Ali Jannati has said that book censorship was too strict under the country's former government. In comments quoted by Iran's semi-official ILNA news agency on October 8, Jannati said censors would have rejected the Koran, which Muslims believe is a revelation by God.

Censorship (cartoon by Mana Neyestani)

"If the Koran hadn't been sent by God and we had handed it to book censors, they wouldn't have issued permission to publish it and would have argued that some of the words in it are against public virtue," he said.

Jannati said he had reviewed some of the titles that the administration of former Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad censored and concluded that in many cases, censors had objected to "irrelevant" issues.

He also said in many instances censors had based their decisions on personal opinions, and added that the reviewers lacked the necessary expertise.

Jannati has been culture minister since August after being chosen by Hassan Rohani, the moderate cleric who was elected president in June and who has promised to give Iranians more freedoms.

But limits remain. Jannati hedged his comments by also saying that book censorship will continue in Iran because the government must act in accordance with rulings made by the Supreme National Security Council and the parliament.

"How can we allow some problematic books to poison the society?" he asked.

Iranian Culture Minister Ali Jannati has said that book censorship (source: Etemaad daily)

The rest is here:
Iran Official Slams Ahmadinejad-Era Censorship

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) October 09, 2013

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