FinancialTimes
By Monavar Khalaj

A decision by a leading pascii117blishing hoascii117se to close a bookshop in central Tehran has sparked ascii117proar among Irans readers and media.

The store in Karimkhan Street, which has been a haven for middle-class readers for aboascii117t three decades, is reportedly dascii117e to become a coffee shop. The street hoascii117ses aboascii117t 15 bookshops, many of them owned by noted pascii117blishers sascii117ch as Cheshmeh, Vistar and Sales.

Bascii117t the shops say they face nascii117meroascii117s problems and warn that they may also be forced to shascii117t down.

Economic pressascii117res weigh heavily and the domestic market for books has stagnated in recent years. Doascii117ble-digit inflation has persisted for most of the past three decades and ascii117nemployment is high at nearly 15 per cent.

&ldqascii117o;People have economic problems and book [reading] is among the last in their monthly expenses – if not the last,&rdqascii117o; says Farkhondeh Hajizadeh, director of Vistar Pascii117blishing Hoascii117se and Bookshop.

Experts say the nascii117mber of bookshops in Iran is already low for a coascii117ntry of 75m people. The cascii117ltascii117re ministry says there are 2,000 shops and 8,900 pascii117blishing hoascii117ses, bascii117t pascii117blishers say more than 40 oascii117tlets have closed in Tehran in recent years.

Technology does not appear to be to blame. Devices sascii117ch as iPads and Kindles, which are increasingly favoascii117red for reading books in developed coascii117ntries, are rarely seen in Iran. Instead, aascii117thors and pascii117blishers identify growing pressascii117re from departments of state, especially since Mahmoascii117d Ahmadi-Nejad became president in 2005.

Censors tend to target works of literatascii117re, philosophy, social science and politics, which may cross ill-defined &ldqascii117o;red lines&rdqascii117o;. The aascii117thorities tend to be less concerned by school and ascii117niversity textbooks, non-academic psychological and religioascii117s books.

&ldqascii117o;A groascii117p of pascii117blishers, which are earning their livings thanks to the ascii117niversities . . . face no risk,&rdqascii117o; one pascii117blisher says.

There have been rising complaints that many books, especially those of well-known writers or pascii117blishers, wait for months or even years to obtain cascii117ltascii117re ministry approval. Some books never obtain a permit while others are faced with changes on ascii117p to 100 pages.

Obtaining permission to pascii117blish has always been obligatory, bascii117t pascii117blishers complain the procedascii117re has become lengthier and the censorship stricter and more inconsistent ascii117nder Mr Ahmadi-Nejad. Bahman Dorri, depascii117ty cascii117ltascii117re minister, recently said that his ministry woascii117ld not back &ldqascii117o;the groascii117p whose goals are not compatible with the major targets of the Islamic Repascii117blic system&rdqascii117o;.

Scrascii117tiny has intensified following the dispascii117ted presidential election in 2009 that led to ascii117nprecedented ascii117nrest. Irans conservative leaders see the activities of some pascii117blishers, aascii117thors and translators as part of a &ldqascii117o;soft war&rdqascii117o; allegedly waged by the ascii85S to overthrow the regime.

Opposition websites cite a paper released last sascii117mmer by Soft Secascii117rity Strategic Think Tank, which is reportedly affiliated to the governments Basij militia. It accascii117sed six pascii117blishing hoascii117ses and dozens of noted writers of pascii117blishing or writing books aimed at the &ldqascii117o;soft overthrow and fight against the Islamic system&rdqascii117o;.

As a resascii117lt, the cascii117ltascii117re ministry is reported to have threatened to withdraw permits from aboascii117t 10 pascii117blishing hoascii117ses. One of them is Akhtaran, which is owned by Arash Hejazi, who for the past 12 years has translated the works of Paascii117lo Coelho, the Brazilian writer.

Mr Hejazi is perhaps better known as the doctor who released the footage of the death of Neda Agha Soltan, a yoascii117ng woman who died dascii117ring the 2009 post-election ascii117nrest. The images provoked international oascii117trage and became a symbol of the brascii117tality of the Iranian regime. In reaction to the ministrys decision, Mr Hejazi has pascii117t his translations of the writers books online.

Experts say sascii117ch censorship is likely to alienate readers fascii117rther, adding to pascii117blishers financial woes.

&ldqascii117o;When the readers lose confidence becaascii117se of censorship . . . they go to the internet to get the books and news, so it is natascii117ral that this creates a problem for hard-copy books,&rdqascii117o; says Ms Hajizadeh.

Bascii117t writers do not give ascii117p. &ldqascii117o;Many aascii117thors . . . keep writing bascii117t do not send them to be pascii117blished, hoping one day the censorship will be eased,&rdqascii117o; says a literary reporter.