Iranian newspaper likely to face charges over cartoon mocking internet curbs

An Iranian newspaper, Ham Mihan, compared public patience to the Biblical figure Job is likely to face criminal charges.

In Short

• Iranian newspaper Ham Mihan likely to face charges over internet criticism
• The charges relate to a cartoon implying public frustration
• Tehran's prosecutor filed charges, but exact penalties remain unclear

An Iranian newspaper implying that the public needed to have the patience of the Biblical figure Job in waiting for President Masoud Pezeshkian to lift restrictions on the internet now faces potential criminal charges.

The reported case against the pro-reform newspaper Ham Mihan represents one of the first media freedom issues to be faced under Pezeshkian, himself a reformist who has promised to ease a police crackdown on women wearing the hijab and improve relations with the West.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency reported Thursday that charges had been filed by Tehran’s prosecutor’s office against the newspaper. It remains unclear exactly what fines or punishment the publication could face, though some have been ordered to suspend their publication in the past in disputes with Iran’s theocracy.

The cartoon published Wednesday showed Job standing in front of the Cabinet spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani, asking: “Excuse me, this filtering is not solved?” Iranians use that term in referring to the internet restrictions, which slow foreign websites and speed those within Iran’s so-called “halal net.”

The cartoon showed Mohajerani answering: “No, be patient a little bit more, it will be solved.”