Minister: Iran to Protest Ban on Press TV through Legal Channels.

Minister: Iran to Protest Ban on Press TV through Legal Channels.(Fars).Tehran - Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Seyed Mohammad Hosseini said that Tehran will not sit silent about the ban on Iran's International English Channel, Press TV, and will pursue the case through legal channels. "We will legally pursue the case with (Germany's) taking Press TV Network off the air. We too enjoy leverages and will use them, and we won't keep quiet," Hosseini told FNA. "We don't want to reciprocate this move, rather we will condemn it. We condemn those who claim to be advocates of the free flow of information and democracy but are not ready to tolerate a network of ours," Hosseini added. On April 3, under pressure from the German government, Munich media regulatory office (BLM) made an illegal decision to remove Press TV from the SES Astra. In an email sent to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) officials, Vice President of the SES Platforms Services Stephane Goebel noted that the BLM has asked that Press TV be immediately taken off the platform, claiming that the channel does not have a license for broadcast in Europe. The move is clearly part of a plot orchestrated by the West to silence the voice of the alternative news network, and has prompted Press TV to file a lawsuit against the decision. Press TV CEO Mohammad Sarafraz says taking the Iranian English language news channel off air in Germany is illegal, counterproductive and against Western claims of freedom of speech. "The measure (removing Press TV from SES Astra) was taken because of the influences of our channels on audiences," Sarafraz told FNA on Friday. In a similar move, the British Office of Communications (Ofcom) revoked Press TV's license and removed the channel from the Sky platform in January for what it claimed to be the news network's breach of the Communications Act. Ofcom had earlier hit Press TV with a fine of 100 thousand pounds. Many observers, however, believe that the British government's hostile campaign against Press TV has its roots in the channel's extensive and transparent coverage of the role the British government played in the killing of tens of thousands of innocent people in Iraq and Afghanistan.Press Tv has also been removed from the French airwaves as reported earlier this week.Read the full story here.