cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/50195066

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Iranians are in uproar after a programme on state television joked about the corpses of those killed in the recent demonstrations, highlighting seething rage towards the country’s rulers following its most violent episode in decades.

In the segment, which was aired on Sunday on the political satire show Khat-Khati, the presenter poses a mock multiple-choice question in response to speculation that the Islamic republic was hiding the bodies of the dead.

“Which kind of refrigerator do you think the Islamic republic is using to preserve the corpses?” the presenter says. “1. Side-by-side refrigerators 2. Ice cream makers 3. Supermarket freezers 4. ‘I am an ice vendor. Don’t ruin my business!’”

The viral video has sparked widespread outrage among the public and activists and drawn criticism from reformist and conservative media outlets alike, striking a nerve at a time of national grief.

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Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said it dismissed the director of the TV channel that aired the show, Ofogh, and took the programme off air.

Tehran’s prosecutor on Monday also announced the channel’s director, host and producers would face legal action. Mohammad Hossein Mohebbi, the show’s host, offered an apology while claiming he was made the subject of a smear campaign with an out-of-context video clip.

The measures do not appear to have appeased critics, with growing calls for the dismissal of IRIB’s chief Peyman Jebelli. Reza Rashidpour, a well-known media personality and a former TV host, launched an online campaign on Monday for Jebelli’s dismissal.

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Many Iranians accused the show of crossing a red line, with news agencies and activists denouncing the channel as “a hate-generating machine” run by a “bunch of narrow-minded, bigoted people lacking basic social literacy”.

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