The editor of a popular Iranian newspaper is going on trial for printing a picture of former President Mohammad Khatami, Associated Press reports. Khatami, who served from 1997 to 2005, has been proscribed as a "seditionist" by authorities.
The court claims that Mahmoud Doaei, an editor for the Ettela'at paper, violated a ban placed by the Supreme National Security Council. The Iranian Republic's moderates, however, claim that there is no official injunction.
"The instruction [banning coverage] remains unchanged," a spokesperson for the judiciary told state television. "Anybody acting against this instruction will be prosecuted the same way Doaei is prosecuted."