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Talk’s Not Cheap on Iran Radio

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Loose lips sink radio stations in Iran, where four broadcasting executives got prison terms after a caller to a talk radio program made the shocking suggestion that a popular TV soap opera character should be the role model for Iran’s women. The caller’s suggestion to remove the daughter of Mohammed, founder of Islam, as the figure dearest to Iranian women prompted an outcry in the predominantly Shiite Muslim nation much like that in the West when John Lennon pronounced the Beatles “more popular than Jesus Christ.” Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini angrily demanded the radio executives be punished for offending Islam, and the four were sentenced to terms ranging from four to five years in prison, with three to get 50 lashes as well. Their punishment, however, was preferable to the death sentence Khomeini ordered for the caller, who had the foresight to remain anonymous. The news wasn’t all bad, as the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported that Khomeini agreed to pardon the broadcasters after receiving an appeal on their behalf from Chief Justice Abdulkarim Moussavi Ardabili.

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