Ashraf Boroujerdi

TEHRAN, April 24--An Interior Ministry official on Sunday cautioned members of city and village councils against endorsing any candidate during the June 17 presidential election.
—Members of city and village councils are not allowed to take part in electoral campaigns,š deputy interior minister for social and councils affairs, Ashraf Boroujerdi, told IRNA.
She noted that according to the Councils Law, their authority with regard to national elections is restricted to encouraging people to come out and vote.
—The councilors are likewise banned from using their authority and council facilities in favor of a particular candidate,š he said.
Criticizing the government for failing to implement strict supervision over the performance of councils, she said contrary to calls on executive organizations to closely monitor the activities of councils, there is also insistence on trimming down the size of the administrative system.
Boroujerdi conceded that supervisory bodies have failed to fulfill their mandate of scrutinizing the activities of city and village councils.
She was also critical of the Interior Ministry for its “compromising– attitude toward council ratifications that have led to wastage of public money.
Boroujerdi described some of the ratifications by the Tehran City Council as being "against the law", saying a legal committee has been formed at the Tehran Governor–s Office to look into council ratifications and ensure that they are legally valid.
—Formation of the committee has caused a decline in the number of ratifications being sent to the arbitration body,š she said.
The deputy interior minister noted that Tehran City Council is insisting on some of its ratifications found illegal by the committee.
On the controversial monorail project, Boroujerdi said the ministry is not opposed to the plan but believes that it needs further expert studies.

TEHRAN, April 24--Seventh Majlis approved on Sunday that the Press Law ratified by the Fifth Majlis replace the Press Jury Law of Sixth Majlis for one year.
Lawmakers said the main reason for their approval is to "avoid making Article 168 of the Constitution ineffective", IRNA reported.
A total of 150 MPs voted for the suspension of the current Press Jury Law.
According to the Press Law approved by Fifth Majlis, the press jury members are elected every two years in a meeting attended by minister of culture and Islamic guidance, head of Tehran Justice Administration, head of Tehran City Council and head of Islamic Propagation Organization, as well as representative of Policy-Making Council of Friday Prayer Leaders.
According to the Sixth Majlis approval, offenses subjected to Article 168 of the Constitution should be dealt with in the presence of a jury whose members are chosen from amongst guild associations and social groups for a period of four years.

Mostafa Moin

TEHRAN, April 24--Presidential candidate, Mostafa Moin, said on Sunday the manner in which political groups and presidential candidates treat university students, print media and political prisoners is the best way of knowing their commitment to national solidarity and public participation.
"Political currents that still rely on traditional approaches may not be happy with setting up such a benchmark," he said.
Asked about the verdicts issued for university activists, Moin said illegal and violent acts contradict national interests, IRNA reported.
He noted that there is no place for bargaining about social and political responsibilities, but the best method is to engage in legal interactions.
"The executive branch should respect the rights of other branches of powers during interactions," he said.
Noting that the experience of President Mohammad Khatami's cabinet can be used by a future government, the presidential candidate pointed out that since there was no reformist experience before Khatami he had to start from scratch.
"However, reformers can now use the experiences of President Khatami," he added.
Commenting on cultural policies of the Khatami administration, Moin said cultural policies improved greatly in Khatami's era in comparison with previous governments.
"Despite the important role played by science and culture in human resource development, they have been neglected," he concluded.

Akbar Ganji

Jamal Karimi-Rad

TEHRAN, April 24--Judiciary rejected on Saturday media reports that jailed journalist Akbar Ganji's health had worsened.
"Ganji's general condition is good and he has no acute physical problem in prison," Judiciary Spokesman Jamal Karimi-Rad told IRNA.
He was reacting to reports published in websites and foreign media that Ganji was ill and that the health of the journalist, who has been in jail since 2001, had started to deteriorate.
"Not only Ganji, but all prisoners undergo regular check-ups and supervision by the (Evin) prison's health team," he said.
Karimi-Rad stated that Ganji had been granted a five-day leave during Iran's Norouz holidays (between March 21 and April 1), where he "overstayed for nine days and then returned to prison".
Ganji is serving a six-year jail term since January 2001 on a battery of charges, including for linking some of the country's top officials to a string of murders of Iranian intellectuals, which were blamed on rogue intelligence agents.
One of his cellmates, dissident cleric Hassan Yousefi Eshkevari, was released in February after serving about two-thirds of his seven-year jail term for a series of charges.
Eshkevari had been jailed for spreading lies, insulting Islamic sanctities as well as participating in a controversial conference in Berlin.

BERLIN, April 24--German prosecutors are investigating a firm in Tehran suspecting of buying material from Germany for use in a missile project, a magazine report due to appear in its Monday edition noted.
According to the weekly Der Spiegel, a company blacklisted by the German authorities bought a crane to help in the manufacture of its Shahab missile program, condemned as a threat by Israel, IRNA reported.
Mizan Machine paid the Liebherr company based in southern Germany 600,000 euros ($785,000) last August for the crane, the magazine said.
Customs authorities were not told about the deal until the freighter transporting the crane had left Hamburg in northern Germany for the Middle East.
The report says they tried to get the ship stopped, but by the weekend it was reported to be at Port Said in Egypt at the entrance to the Suez Canal.
Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi dismissed on Sunday a report that it bought equipment from Germany for its ballistic missile program, and complained that European restrictions were damaging trade with the Islamic Republic.
"This is an unfounded theory. It's not very clear how crane equipment can be used in Shahab 3 and 4 production," Asefi told reporters.