Iran has shut down an office of television channel Farsi1, owned by News Corp. and Moby Group, and arrested at least four employees for "anti-revolutionary" activity, the Tehran prosecutor was quoted as saying Tuesday.
"With the intention of helping the anti-revolutionary movement, this bureau was tasked with dubbing movies for Farsi1 channel in an office in the center of Tehran," Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi was quoted as saying by Mehr news agency.
State television's website quoted him as saying "four or five people" had been arrested.
Hong Kong-based broadcaster Star, equally owned by News Corp. and Afghanistan's Moby, launched the Farsi1 satellite channel in summer 2009, airing soaps and sitcoms dubbed into Farsi and targeting a potential 100 million-strong audience in Iran, Afghanistan and Tajikistan. News Corp. also owns NewsCore.
Farsi1 was an instant hit in Iran, where private TV and radio stations are also forbidden, but it infuriated hardliners who accused its broadcaster of promoting "corruption" in the country's conservative Islamic society.
Dolatabadi said "advanced equipment" had been confiscated from the office, Mehr reported.
Dozens of Persian language satellite channels based abroad beam a daily dose of politics and entertainment to Iran. But Farsi1 has managed to win audiences over with popular American series not broadcast by the state-run broadcaster.
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