Iranian TV host quits after criticising police
TEHRAN: The host of a popular Iranian talk show has stepped down for “ill-health” two weeks after causing a stir by berating the head of Tehran police on live television over the latest dress crackdown, media reported.
Farzad Hassani, the host of state television’s nightly Koole Poshti (Backpack) show, two weeks ago launched an extraordinary tirade against the methods of Tehran police in an interview with their chief Ahmed Reza Radan.
While expressing support for drive against unIslamic dress, he noisily and unrelentingly lashed out at the police for having a “bad attitude and tone” when apprehending the slack dressers.
“I did not know until the last moment I was to replace Hassani,” his replacement Amir Hossein Moddares told viewers in Saturday’s edition, the Isna news agency reported.
“He has left the programme owing to illness and doctors’ advice was to take some rest. I hope that he will recover from his illness which is the result of hosting a live television programme,” the new host told viewers.
The Fars news agency, quoting an informed source, said the decision to replace Hassani had been taken by channel three network’s directors. It added that he had been reprimanded by the broadcasting watchdog for his outburst.
Hassani’s attack attracted a good deal of attention in a country where officials are usually treated with the utmost courtesy when giving interviews and has proved a hit on video-sharing websites.
“It is the tone and attitude of police that is the problem,” he said in the programme, broadcast as the police’s latest fashion crackdown got under way. “They sound as though they are looking for revenge.”
The host of a popular Iranian talk-show has stepped down for "ill-health" two weeks after causing a stir by berating the head of Tehran police on live television over the latest dress crackdown, media reported.
Farzad Hassani, the host of state television's nightly Koole Poshti (Backpack) show, two weeks ago launched an extraordinary tirade against the methods of Tehran police in an interview with their chief Ahmad Reza Radan.
While expressing support for drive against unIslamic dress, he noisily and unrelentingly lashed out at the police for having a "bad attitude and tone" when apprehending the slack dressers.
"I did not know until the last moment I was to replace Hassani," his replacement Amir Hossein Moddares told viewers in Saturday's edition, the Isna agency reported.
"He has left the programme owing to illness and doctors' advice was take some rest. I hope that he will recover from his illness which is the result of hosting a live television programme," the new host told viewers.
The Fars news agency, quoting an informed source, said the decision to replace Hassani had been taken by channel three network's directors. It added that he had been reprimanded by the broadcasting watchdog for his outburst.
Hassani's attack attracted a good deal of attention in a country where officials are usually treated with the utmost courtesy when giving interviews and has proved a hit on video-sharing websites.
"It is the tone and attitude of police that is the problem," he said in the programme, broadcast as the police's latest fashion crackdown got underway.
"They sound as though they are looking for revenge."
Radan appeared to take the tirade in his stride, smiling as he tried to get a word in edgeways while Hassani recounted how he had been stopped by police after they mistook a bottle of non-alcoholic beer for something stronger.
The police chief then told his inquisitor: "You talked beautifully and elegantly but you were overcome with emotion... People's security is not a joke."
Hassani then apologised for his own tone as the programme ended.
Farzad Hassani, the host of state television’s nightly Koole Poshti (Backpack) show, two weeks ago launched an extraordinary tirade against the methods of Tehran police in an interview with their chief Ahmed Reza Radan.
While expressing support for drive against unIslamic dress, he noisily and unrelentingly lashed out at the police for having a “bad attitude and tone” when apprehending the slack dressers.
“I did not know until the last moment I was to replace Hassani,” his replacement Amir Hossein Moddares told viewers in Saturday’s edition, the Isna news agency reported.
“He has left the programme owing to illness and doctors’ advice was to take some rest. I hope that he will recover from his illness which is the result of hosting a live television programme,” the new host told viewers.
The Fars news agency, quoting an informed source, said the decision to replace Hassani had been taken by channel three network’s directors. It added that he had been reprimanded by the broadcasting watchdog for his outburst.
Hassani’s attack attracted a good deal of attention in a country where officials are usually treated with the utmost courtesy when giving interviews and has proved a hit on video-sharing websites.
“It is the tone and attitude of police that is the problem,” he said in the programme, broadcast as the police’s latest fashion crackdown got under way. “They sound as though they are looking for revenge.”
The host of a popular Iranian talk-show has stepped down for "ill-health" two weeks after causing a stir by berating the head of Tehran police on live television over the latest dress crackdown, media reported.
Farzad Hassani, the host of state television's nightly Koole Poshti (Backpack) show, two weeks ago launched an extraordinary tirade against the methods of Tehran police in an interview with their chief Ahmad Reza Radan.
While expressing support for drive against unIslamic dress, he noisily and unrelentingly lashed out at the police for having a "bad attitude and tone" when apprehending the slack dressers.
"I did not know until the last moment I was to replace Hassani," his replacement Amir Hossein Moddares told viewers in Saturday's edition, the Isna agency reported.
"He has left the programme owing to illness and doctors' advice was take some rest. I hope that he will recover from his illness which is the result of hosting a live television programme," the new host told viewers.
The Fars news agency, quoting an informed source, said the decision to replace Hassani had been taken by channel three network's directors. It added that he had been reprimanded by the broadcasting watchdog for his outburst.
Hassani's attack attracted a good deal of attention in a country where officials are usually treated with the utmost courtesy when giving interviews and has proved a hit on video-sharing websites.
"It is the tone and attitude of police that is the problem," he said in the programme, broadcast as the police's latest fashion crackdown got underway.
"They sound as though they are looking for revenge."
Radan appeared to take the tirade in his stride, smiling as he tried to get a word in edgeways while Hassani recounted how he had been stopped by police after they mistook a bottle of non-alcoholic beer for something stronger.
The police chief then told his inquisitor: "You talked beautifully and elegantly but you were overcome with emotion... People's security is not a joke."
Hassani then apologised for his own tone as the programme ended.
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