The Iranian government has suspended the press accreditation for Reuters staff in Tehran after the publication of a video story on women’s martial arts training which contained an error.
Reuters, the news arm of Thomson Reuters, the global news and information group, corrected the story after the martial arts club where the video was filmed made a complaint.
The story’s headline, “Thousands of female Ninjas train as Iran’s assassins”, was corrected to read “Three thousand women Ninjas train in Iran”.
Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance subsequently contacted the Reuters Tehran bureau chief about the video and its publication, as a result of which Reuters’ 11 personnel were told to hand back their press cards.
Parents, instructors and students watch drills performed by fellow members of various Ninjutsu schools at a park in Karaj, 45 km (28 miles) northwest of Tehran February 13, 2012.
Currently about 3000 to 3500 women train in Ninjutsu in independently run clubs throughout Iran working under the supervision of the Ministry of Sports’ Martial Arts Federation. Picture taken February 13, 2012. [REUTERS/Caren Firouz]
