TEHRAN (IRNA) -- Government spokesman and Minister of Justice Gholam-Hossein Elham marked Journalist Day by calling for transparent reporting.

Speaking during a visit to IRNA on the eve of Journalist Day, Elham paid tribute to IRNA reporter Mahmoud Saremi who was martyred along with eight Iranian diplomats by Taliban at Iranian Consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif on August 8, 1998.
Saremi, is well-known for his devotion in reflecting the events in his reports and the violence the Taliban had perpetrated against innocent people of Afghanistan when the U.S.-backed group seized power in Afghanistan toppling the government of Burhanuddin Rabbani.
August 8, the day on which Saremi was martyred by the Taliban, was declared Journalist Day in Iran.
In his statement to IRNA reporters, Elham called on reporters to follow Saremi as a model for accurate and on-time reporting.
Elham said that he believes in positive impacts of transparent and accurate reporting and that the journalists are capable of leading the human community to salvation.
He also felicitated the IRNA staff on the 73rd anniversary of the establishment of the news agency