From early April through June, FATA cyber police frequently issued the following charges to citizens for their online activities: “propaganda against the state,” “disturbing public opinion,” “promoting promiscuity and moral corruption,”and “publication of immoral material.”
Previously, FATA was more engaged in confronting gambling sites and online fraud. In an apparent turn of priorities, however, it has recently been making numerous arrests in the name of national security. Additionally, the crackdown on young skateboarders in Shiraz, issuing stern warnings to Instagram influencers during the month of Ramadan, and continuing to interfere in people’s lifestyles are among other activities that the cyber police is now taking on.
This widespread crackdown is designed to intimidate the whole of the society and contain anger in the face of current economic, political and social circumstances. While the strategy might temporarily seem effective, it will likely be counterproductive in dealing with more fundamental problems.
Confronting rumor mongers
The effects of the so-called economic surgery carried out by the Raisi administration can be felt not only in the Iranian people’s real lives, but also in their virtual world. Pressures from the recent dire economic conditions have had a significant impact on a large segment of the population, leading to widespread protests throughout the country, most significantly by teachers and pensioners in April and by the general public in Khuzestan province in June. Popular protests in Khuzestan were met with severe internet disruptions imposed by authorities. As the protests spread, so has the government’s determination to clamp down on both online and offline dissent, most recently by introducing a program to fight online rumors.
“It has become clear that the vast majority of rumors and false information are being produced by foreign enemies and remorseless individuals in the diaspora to conspire against the country, undermine international relations, and spread distrust and hopelessness among compatriots,” said Col. Ramin Pashaie, FATA’s deputy chief in charge of cultural and social affairs in April. He did not provide any further details.
Several weeks later, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stressed the same point in a speech to judiciary officials. “What’s the meaning of psychological safety? It means people’s minds shouldn’t be polluted with rumors, lies and fearful talk on a daily basis,” he said on June 28. “In the past, it was the newspapers who did these sorts of things but now there’s cyberspace as well.”
In February 2021, the Cyberspace Supreme Council ratified a policy directive on “preventing and countering false information and fake news on the Internet” that called on several ministries, the judiciary, and the state-owned broadcaster to take the necessary steps to comply.
In particular, the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance was ordered to monitor websites with more than 5,000 viewers for false information. In addition, the judiciary was assigned to detect criminal instances and recommend commensurate punishments for spreading false information. The key to making these changes has been over-applying the vague charge of “disturbing public opinion” to a wide range of instances, which undermines freedom of expression even further.
The youth make news
In late June, a viral video showing hijab-less teenage girls flouting strict hijab laws and mingling on the busy Chamran Blvd. in Shiraz stirred controversy. Local authorities, shocked and humiliated, arrested at least nine people, fired two officials, and shut down an online cycling service in the city.
The incident was particularly controversial given that it coincided with the release of “Hello Commander” – a propaganda video that featured an epic anthem with child soldiers offering their loyalty to Khamenei, suggesting that Iranian youth are super zealous in protecting the Islamic Republic. The song has been performed in sports arenas inside the country and by regime supporters abroad.
However, as we present below, the arrest of teenagers for their “immoral” activities online tells a different narrative.
The “User Protection Plan”: a multi-headed dragon
During this quarter, public debate intensified over the “User Protection Plan,” a controversial bill which has been floating around for some time under varying titles. One of the bill’s proposed measures is to default to Google Safe Search for all users, regardless of age. The proposal reportedly came from the Telecommunication Infrastructure Company (TIC), a state-owned telecom firm connected with the implementation of the National Information Network (NIN).
However, the bill is much more sinister in that it will try to push Iranians toward domestic platforms and apps with heavily censored content. Among the built-in flaws of the bill is FATA’s warning to business guilds that it will only focus its investigations on websites registered in Iran (the .ir domain). The announcement ignores complaints related to businesses active on international platforms such as Instagram.
Suppressing non-Islamic lifestyles
Non-Islamic, liberal lifestyles came under attack during this period as well. Online dating pages known as “crush” are a recent popular phenomenon which have come under FATA’s scrutiny. In addition, during the fasting month of Ramadan, Iranian influencers received warnings from the FATA police for their food-related posts.
As censorship increases, fewer people escape prosecution. During this quarter, the judiciary opened a case against an unnamed former Member of Parliament for comments made about the Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Charges were also brought against Faezeh Hashemi, the outspoken daughter of the late former president Hashemi Rafsanjani, for criticizing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a political discussion on the Clubhouse app.
The following offers further details on the measures carried out by FATA, the judiciary, and other state bodies working in parallel with one another against Iranians on the Internet between early April to July 2022.
April 9, 2022 – The prosecutor in Neyshabour, northeastern Iran, ordered the arrest of three teenage girls for publishing a dance video on social media.
April 11 – A citizen was arrested in eastern Tehran for “promoting promiscuity and moral corruption” through photographs on an Instagram page.
April 12 – The prosecutor in Qazvin, northern Iran, announced the arrest of a citizen on charges of blasphemy and propaganda against the state through online content. The person’s identity and post contents are unknown.
April 17 – A citizen was arrested in North Khorasan province for allegedly posting immoral content online. The exact nature of the content or the person’s identity or place of residence are unknown.
April 20 – At least two human couriers (known as “kulbar” in Persian) were shot and killed and 16 others wounded by the border guards in western Iran in the course of several days, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network. The IRGC intelligence organization and the Ministry of Islamic Guidance’s local office in Sardasht reportedly made threatening phone calls to admins of independent news channels on the Telegram app, warning against posting information about the incident.
April 24 – The Evin security court prosecutor charged women’s rights activist Maryam Rahmani. Rahmani wrote on Instagram: “Yesterday I went to Branch 1 of the Shahid Moghaddas (Evin) court and was charged with ‘propaganda against the state’ and ‘publishing falsehoods on the Internet.’ I was not told what actions these charges were based on. I have been tied up in this case since September 15 [2021], when the security forces searched my home and confiscated my belongings. Although they returned some of my things, they have kept my books. My mobile, which they returned, doesn’t charge and they broke my laptop. They tried to force me to sign a statement that my returned belongings looked intact. They returned a wiped laptop to me. As a result, I don’t have a single photo or any of my journal diaries. My articles, dissertation and unfinished projects have all disappeared.”
April 27 – Three individuals were arrested for running Instagram “crush” dating pages, according to the Kerman province chief of police who described the content as “immoral” and “contrary to norms.” The identities of the detainees are unknown.
May 10 – The judiciary brought charges against Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of the late former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, for her comments on Clubhouse and statements about Muhammad the prophet on social media. “The only way the Revolutionary Guards will return to the barracks is if they remain on the U.S. sanctions list,” she said in a Clubhouse discussion on April 16. A few days later, an old video clip of her speaking sarcastically about the financial arrangement of Muhammad the prophet and his wife, went viral and prompted the judiciary to bring blasphemy charges against her, despite her subsequent apology.
May 10 – A case was opened against former member of parliament Jafarzadeh Aminabadi for allegedly publishing false information and disturbing public opinion, Judiciary Spokesman Zabihollah Khodaian told reporters in his weekly press conference. “Everyone involved in the media or on the Internet should be careful about what they publish,” he said. Khodaian was referring to Aminabadi’s interview with Didehban in which he criticized Speaker of the Parliament Ghalibaf and tweeted about it on April 26.
May 15 – The admin of a Telegram channel was arrested in North Khorasan province and accused of disturbing public opinion. There is no information concerning the nature of the content on this channel or the identity of the arrested person.
May 19 – Mahyar Taghikhani, a social media activist in Karaj, was transferred to prison to begin a six-month sentence. The local prosecutor had taken him to court for presenting the Friday prayer leader of Karaj with a simple question. According to documentary maker Javad Mogouie, “Six months ago, the son of the president of Karaj city council was seen in the north of Iran driving an official city vehicle. In his sermon, the Friday prayer leader of Karaj criticized the misuse of government property and the scandal was even reported on the 20:30 TV news program (a prime time news show). Everyone was praising the Friday prayer leader’s sense of justice. Sometime later, Mahyar Taghikhani, a reporter in Karaj, made a live Instagram video and asked the Friday prayer leader of Karaj: “would you have criticized your daughter if she had done the same?’ A few days later, the prosecutor of Karaj charged Taghikhani for that question and, after a trial, he was sentenced to six months in jail and banned from using Instagram for a year.”
May 28 – An individual was arrested in North Khorasan province and charged with “publishing falsehoods with the intention to disturb public opinion” on Instagram. No other details have been made public about the identity of the arrested individual or the nature of the Instagram posts.
May 28 – Iran’s Audio-Visual Mass Media Regulatory Organization (aka SATRA) warned that the licenses of online film distributors, Filimo and Namava, could be revoked for ignoring requests to censor certain shots. The reason for the warning appears to be some sensational clips from the two platforms on social media that have gone viral.
June 10 – “A woman around 30 years of age” was arrested in the town of Maneh-Somlaghan, northeast Iran, on the charge of spreading rumors and publishing false information with the intention of disturbing public opinion. No further information has been made public.
June 12 – A man was arrested in Farouj, North Khorasan province, accused of “disturbing public opinion of the internet.”
June 13 – An unidentified individual was arrested in North Khorasan province for “disturbing public opinion on the Internet” by “posting slanderous clips.”
June 14 – The Cyber Police Chief said several individuals were arrested in Tehran, Bushehr, West Azerbaijan, Zanjan, and Shiraz for “making immoral live videos and promoting promiscuity.” The number of people arrested remains unknown. Also on this day, FATA’s cultural and social affairs deputy said a case had been opened against a boy and two girls for “making immoral clips.” The two girls were summoned and summoned for criminal charges.
June 15 – An individual was arrested for managing an Instagram dating page for students in universities in Tehran. The FATA police declared that such content violated its red line regarding “immoral and unconventional” dating pages. Also on this day, one person was arrested for making and posting humorous clips about individuals living near the city of Qazvin, northern Iran. The blurry line between humor and slander have also complicated movie and TV production in Iran.
June 21 – According to a decree by the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, “appearance of women in advertising is prohibited,” AsrIran website reported. It was in response to a sexually-suggestive commercial video for Domino ice cream, which became an Internet hit. The anti-vice unit of the judiciary filed a complaint against the dairy company for “insulting the exalted status of women” and “promoting indecency.” The same company had been accused of taking advantage of women’s physical appearance in another commercial video a year earlier.
June 24 – The prosecutor’s office in Shiraz ordered the arrest of a number of skateboarders after a video of their gathering was shared thousands of times on social media. The clip that angered many officials showed young girls without headscarves attending an event at the city’s civic center to mark “Go Skateboarding Day” on June 21. Shiraz Friday prayer leader, Ayatollah Lotfollah Dejkam, called the video “a soft war waged by enemies of the Islamic Republic.” Lotfollah Sheibani, the city’s governor, commented: “such behaviors didn’t even exist in ancient Persia, before the dawn of Islam, so there’s no excuse for them. We strongly condemn these acts and wil take wrongdoers to court.” The social and cultural affairs director of the governor’s office in Fars province, Hossein Haghayeghi, emphasized that “breaking norms and taboos is unacceptable in an Islamic country.” As a result of this backlash, the athletic director for youth in Fars province and the head of the skateboarding program were sacked and Bdood bicycle sharing app, the event’s sponsor, was shut down. Previously, the app had been criticized by hardline state media, as well as the religious seminary school in Fars province, for allowing women to use its services.
June 25 – The admin of an Instagram page was arrested in Bojnourd, North Khorasan province, for allegedly posting “immoral and indecent” photos. No information is available about the identity of the arrested individual.
Conclusion
The 22 cases mentioned above give a sense of the wide range of online activities that are increasingly scrutinized and criminalized and lead to the arrest and prosecution of numerous innocent Iranians from all walks of life. However, inevitably the true extent of the crackdown on online activities is underreported due to strict censorship and a climate of fear and intimidation which has driven many to silence.
While we at Filterwatch strive to document state actions against online activities, audience contribution can significantly improve reporting in this field. If you have personally been the target of online suppression, or if you have information about pages that have been forced to quit, we could use your help to make sure that verified information reaches the public as clearly as possible. The stories of anonymous individuals accused of “immorality” and “indecency” by Iran’s security establishment must be told. We welcome emails from those whose rights have been violated merely for pursuing a different lifestyle.
