Iran closes French analysis institute over Charlie Hebdo cartoons2 hours in the past

Iran on Thursday shut down a decades-old French analysis institute in response to cartoons printed by the French satirical journal Charlie Hebdo that mocked the nation’s ruling clerics.

Iran’s Overseas Ministry referred to as the closure of the French Institute for Analysis in Iran a “first step” in response to the cartoons, which the journal had billed as a present of help for anti-government demonstrations which have convulsed Iran for almost 4 months.

The ministry stated it will “critically pursue the case and take the required measures” to carry France accountable. On Wednesday, Iran summoned the French ambassador to complain concerning the cartoons.

The shuttered analysis institute, which is related to the French Overseas Ministry, was created in 1983 by way of the merger of an archaeological delegation relationship again to the late nineteenth century and an institute of Iran research. It features a library boasting some 49,000 references, together with 28,000 books.

On Thursday, there was a heavy safety presence across the institute and the close by French Embassy in central Tehran. Graffiti left on the outer partitions – apparently by authorities supporters – referred to France as “the house of homosexuals” and a “place of blasphemy.”

Charlie Hebdo has an extended historical past of publishing vulgar cartoons mocking Islamists, which critics say are deeply insulting to Muslims. Two French-born al-Qaida extremists attacked the newspaper’s workplace in 2015, killing 12 cartoonists, and it has been the goal of different assaults through the years.

Its newest challenge options the winners of a latest cartoon contest during which entrants had been requested to attract probably the most offensive caricatures of Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

One of many finalists depicts a turbaned cleric reaching for a hangman’s noose as he drowns in blood, whereas one other reveals Khamenei clinging to a large throne above the raised fists of protesters. Others depict extra vulgar and sexually specific scenes.

Iran’s Overseas Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Wednesday vowed a “decisive and efficient response” to the publication of the cartoons, which he stated had insulted Iran’s non secular and political authorities.

French Overseas Minister Catherine Colonna accused Iran of following “dangerous politics.”

Iran “just isn’t solely practising violence in opposition to its personal individuals however can also be practising a coverage of preserving individuals hostage, which is especially stunning,” she stated Thursday on LCI tv.

“In France, not solely does freedom of the press exist – in contrast to what occurs in Iran – additionally it is exercised underneath the management of judges and an impartial justice system, which is one thing that Iran undoubtedly is aware of little about. Additionally in French regulation we do not need the notion of blasphemy.”

She didn’t reply on to the ambassador being summoned or expressly defend Charlie Hebdo. The French authorities, whereas defending free speech, has rebuked the privately-owned journal prior to now for fanning tensions.

Iran has been gripped by nationwide protests for almost 4 months following the dying in mid-September of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old girl who had been detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the nation’s strict Islamic gown code.

Ladies have taken the lead within the protests, with many stripping off the obligatory Islamic scarf in public. The protesters have referred to as for the overthrow of Iran’s ruling clerics in one of many largest challenges to their rule for the reason that 1979 Islamic Revolution that introduced them to energy.

Charlie Hebdo, which has printed equally offensive cartoons about lifeless baby migrants, virus victims, neo-Nazis, popes, Jewish leaders and different public figures, presents itself as an advocate for democracy and free expression. However it routinely pushes the boundaries of French hate speech legal guidelines with typically sexually specific caricatures that concentrate on almost everybody.

The paper drew fireplace for reprinting caricatures of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad that had been initially printed by a Danish journal in 2005. These cartoons had been seen as sacrilegious and deeply hurtful to Muslims worldwide. Islamist teams world wide organized demonstrations, a lot of which turned violent, in addition to boycotts of Danish merchandise.