An Iranian cleric who edits a culture and sport magazine has been slapped with a four-month prison sentence by a religious court for insulting his colleagues in the clergy, newspapers said Sunday.
Ali Afsahi, editor-in-chief of "Cinema-Sport," was also banned for life from the clergy by the special religious tribunal, which handles cases involving Iran's Shiite Muslim clerics.
Afsahi, a specialist in Iranian cinema, was charged over a speech he gave on the topic in September, which the court ruled had "insulted and defamed the clergy," papers said.
More than 25 newspapers and journals have been closed down by the conservative courts since April, and at least a dozen journalists, editors and publishers have been jailed -- TEHRAN (AFP)
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