Just two months ahead of the next presidential election in Iran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (the hardline aligned wing of the army) has carried out a mass arrest of journalists and page administrators of the messaging app ‘Telegram’.
Telegram has been valued for its high level of security and data protection, making it a popular choice for Iranian citizens who want to avoid worrying about the state gaining access to their data. As well as a messaging app it is also used as a platform to access information which might otherwise be censored or unavailable.
It has been reported that 12 people have been arrested during the crackdown, all of whom are administrators of political pages on the application. The channels affected are all known as ‘reformist media channels’ and include Eslahtalaban news, Eslahat News, Majmeye Eslahtalaban and Haamiyan Dolat - (Eslahat translating as ‘reform’ in Persian). Since the arrests many of these pages are no longer active or have been shut down fully.
Article 19, a human rights organization with a focus on the defense and promotion of freedom of expression and freedom of information, have expressed particular concern over the recent arrests.
They state in their report:
“These arrests are extremely concerning, and indicate a purposeful restriction of the media space in the lead up to the May Presidential Elections. We especially urge the Iranian government to ensure all political voices have the platform to publish, share and receive information online without repercussions,”
- Thomas Hughes, Executive Director of ARTICLE 19.
Some Iranian MP’s have also voiced critical opinions about the series of arrests, including Iranian parliament’s Deputy Speaker Ali Motahari. Motahari stated in an interview with Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) that if the ministry could not explain thoroughly the motives behind the recent arrests, he would summon the intelligence minister for questioning or begin the process of impeaching him.
Similarly Tehran based MP Mahmoud Sadaghi also took to twitter to express his opposition:
از دیروز درحال پیگیری و پرس و جو درباره مرجع دستور دهنده و نهاد بازداشت کننده شش ادمین کانال های تلگرامی هستم. متأسفانه هیچکس پاسخگو نیست!
— محمود صادقی (@mah_sadeghi) March 16, 2017
Since yesterday I have been inquiring in order to find out the person responsible for ordering and executing the arrest of six telegram administrators, unfortunately nobody has yet claimed responsibility!
Interested parties are currently finding it difficult to access information due to the parliament being out of sessio in the run-up to Nowruz (Iranian new year).
SE
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