TEHRAN Managing Director of the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) and former managing editor of Iran-e Javan weekly magazine Fereydoun Verdinejad appeared at Branch 1410 of the Press Court on Sunday to reply to charges leveled against the weekly and IRNA.

Iran-e Javan was banned temporarily in December upon an order of head of the Branch 1410 of Tehran's Public Court Judge Saeed Mortazavi.

Verdinejad told IRNA upon leaving the court that 15 counts of complaints had been lodged against Iran-e Javan by Hojjatoleslam Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, the prosecutor general of Special Court for the Cleric, 13 complaints by the headquarters for enjoining the good and prohibiting the evil, a complaint by a Basij resistance base as well as two private complaints.

He said that the complaints filed by Ejei date back to the years 1998 and 1999, when Verdinejad was the managing editor of Iran-e Javan.

The IRNA managing director said that the prosecutor general of the SCC has complained against Iran-e Javan for publishing fabricated stories with an aim to divert public opinion, printing indecent articles and printing pictures with political motivations by the magazine.

At the end of the three-and-half-hour court session, Judge Mortazavi issued a ruling calling on Verdinejad to pay Rls.50 million on bail. (IRNA)