DUBAI: The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards has warned France and the editors of Charlie Hebdo magazine that they may face the same fate as Salman Rushdie after the magazine published more cartoons mocking Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Rushdie has received death threats since the 1980s when he published his controversial book “The Satanic Verses.”
He spent nearly 10 years in hiding as the book sparked outrage in Islamic countries, and in 1989, Ayatollah Khomeini, then supreme leader of Iran, issued a fatwa — an Islamic ruling — ordering Muslims to kill the author.
Rushdie was stabbed last year at a literary festival in New York, where he sustained severe injuries.
“I advise the French and directors of the Charlie Hebdo magazine to take a look at the fate of Salman Rushdie,” said Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, according to Iran’s Mehr News Agency on Tuesday.
“Do not play with Muslims. Salman Rushdie insulted the Qur’an and the Holy Prophet of Islam 30 years ago and hid in dangerous places.”
Charlie Hebdo last week published the winning cartoons in a competition that called for people around the world to draw the most offensive caricatures of the ayatollah as an act of support toward the protest movement in Iran.
The publication of the cartoons has resulted in increased animosity between Iran and France, with the former closing down the French Institute for Research.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the closure of the institute a “first step” in response to the cartoons, and said it would “seriously pursue the case and take the required measures” to hold France accountable.
In the face of these threats, the satirical magazine doubled down and published a magazine cover that mocks Iran again this week. The cover depicts mullahs entering and exiting a naked woman’s womb while her legs are splayed. “It took us a week to find the exit,” reads the caption.
An editorial inside described the cyberattack on Charlie Hebdo’s website after the publication of the special edition last week, which the magazine is investigating but said was “highly likely” to have been carried out by Iran.
The editorial read: “A computer attack does not cause deaths, but it sets the tone.
“The mullahs’ regime would feel so in danger that it would consider it vital for its existence to hack the site of a French newspaper.
“It is an honor but above all proof that their power feels very fragile.”
Iran warns Charlie Hebdo magazine of similar fate to Salman Rushdie
https://arab.news/ma652
Iran warns Charlie Hebdo magazine of similar fate to Salman Rushdie
- ‘Do not play with Muslims,’ says military chief
- The publication of the cartoons has resulted in increased animosity between Iran and France
Israeli journalists warn of media crackdown as UK billionaire prepares Channel 13 sale
- The Union of Journalists in Israel has condemned the transaction as “an unlawful deal”
LONDON: Israeli journalists and media unions have voiced serious concern over a proposed sale of a major stake in Israel’s Channel 13, warning that the move could deal a devastating blow to independent journalism in the country amid a broader campaign to reshape the media landscape ahead of elections.
According to The Guardian, British billionaire Sir Leonard Blavatnik is preparing to sell a 15 percent stake in Channel 13, one of Israel’s few mainstream channels critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to telecom tycoon Patrick Drahi, a French-Israeli businessman who already owns media outlets perceived as sympathetic to the current government.
Journalists and free press advocates said the sale risked consolidating pro-government influence in a media environment already under pressure from financial sanctions, lawsuits, and regulatory threats.
The Union of Journalists in Israel has condemned the transaction as “an unlawful deal,” describing it as part of a broader “master plan to capture the media” ahead of the country’s scheduled elections.
Channel 13 has aired critical coverage of Netanyahu in recent years, including reporting on his corruption cases.
Drahi’s reported acquisition would make him a significant stakeholder at a time when Blavatnik is pulling back after years of financial losses, reported The Guardian.
Although the stake falls within the legal threshold for media ownership, critics argued that Drahi’s financial power as the only investor currently willing to inject funds would give him de facto control of editorial direction.
“While Patrick Drahi is only buying 15 percent, our fear is that by buying 15 percent, he gets 100 percent hold of the policy of the channel,” Anat Saragusti, a senior official at the Union of Journalists, told The Guardian. “It’s a lose-lose for the Israeli public, in terms of freedom of speech and diversity of opinions.”
A separate offer from a group of liberal Israeli tech entrepreneurs, reportedly valued at up to $120 million over three years, was also on the table, but ultimately rejected. A spokesperson for Blavatnik’s Access Industries insisted there was no political influence behind the deal and that Drahi’s bid was “the stronger, faster option” of the two.
“Any suggestion that the preferred offer has been selected for political reasons is entirely false,” the spokesperson said, adding that the transaction would allow Channel 13 to invest in high-quality content and digital innovation.
The Netanyahu government has come under growing scrutiny for actions seen as hostile to independent media, including imposing sanctions on the newspaper Haaretz and initiating defamation lawsuits against investigative reporters. The prime minister is also on trial for alleged efforts to trade regulatory favors for favorable press coverage, one of several corruption charges he faces.
“If Channel 13 falls, this would be the end of the free press in Israel,” Saragusti warned. “It’s the tipping point.”
