reconciliation between the Islamic Republic and the West.”62 In the winter of 2010, the House of Cinema filed a legal complaint against Salahshor in a court of law. He was fined a pittance: 40,000 IRR (2.36 GBP). In an interview with ISNA Jamal Khandan Koochaki, the House of Cinema’s lawyer, said, “Branch number 1057 of the Iranian court system fined Salahshor 40,000 IRR because of the insults he made against the House of Cinema members and, after our appeal, the inconsequential result did not change.”63 He continued, “In addition, his verbal attack on the House of Cinema members was dismissed by the court during the hearing as it was not considered to be an important piece of evidence.”64 Koochaki sarcastically hoped that the 40,000 IRR fine would prevent Salahshor from acting in a similar way in the future, unlikely considering that this trial occurred while he was being trialled in another case, in the same court, for plagiarism. This case is ongoing. Mohammad Mehdi Asgarpour, the CEO of the House of Cinema, reacted to Salahshor’s statement by saying, “We have not responded to the many accusations levelled at the House of Cinema in the past but these recent accusations are different because they have a certain legal element to them. Salahshor should be made to prove who the people are that are allegedly engaging in these morally corrupt and licentious activities … In this instance I feel compelled to respond to the accusations because its my responsibility as the representative of our members … We will not give up … We represent more than 95% of all 62. Ibid. 63. ISNA, "40,000 IRR Fine for Salahshor," Iranian Students’ News Agency , December 31, 2010, http://isna.ir/isna/NewsView.aspx?ID=News-1684282. 64. Ibid.
Cultural Censorship in Iran
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