Javanfekr sustained a 'heart condition' in Iran's infamous Evin prison Tehran – Arabstoday A top aide to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was imprisoned in September, was replaced as the head of Iran's state Islamic Republic News Agency [IRNA] on Monday, state media reported .Ali Akbar Javanfekr, who is being held in Tehran's notorious Evin prison, was succeeded by another Ahmadinejad advisor, Majid Omidi Shahraki, who led the president's Political and Security Affairs office, they said.
Javanfekr was arrested on September 26 -- the same day Ahmadinejad was giving a speech in New York at the United Nations General Assembly -- and is serving a six-month jail term in Evin.
He has been convicted of publishing material offensive to Islamic codes and public morality by allowing one of the state newspapers under his control to run articles questioning Iran's strict Islamic dress code applying to women.
Javanfekr and other Ahmadinejad aides have long been targets of Iran's hardline judges and ultra-conservative lawmakers who see them as attempting to undermine religious principles.
Iranian leader Ahmadinejad became locked in a public row with judiciary chief Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani over gaining access to Evin prison. He eventually was able to see Javanfekr last month when the aide was briefly taken to hospital for what reports called a "heart condition.”
The IRNA runs a network of domestic bureaus and several correspondents in other countries.
Omidi Shahraki is the fifth IRNA head to be named since President Ahmadinejad took power in 2005.
Source: AFP