The present report provides an overview of the activities of Iran’s cyber police and the cyberspace performance of security forces in the three-month period starting from the 1st of July to the end of September.2023, with a particular focus on widespread arrests of individuals active in cyberspace throughout Iran.
These arrests were carried out particularly in the days leading up to the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in a morality patrol detention facility, apparently for the purpose of preventing popular gatherings and coordinated activities.
In line with this trend, at least 32 family members of individuals killed in the countrywide uprising of last year were summoned or arrested by security forces. According to reports received by Filterban, a considerable number of these families were, at the time of their detention, prohibited from holding or participating in anniversary ceremonies for their loved ones. Authorities also warned them to refrain from any “activity on social media” while threatening to arrest them again.
In the days leading up to the anniversary of the countrywide protests in Iran, a considerable number of political activists, prominent cultural figures, artists, athletes, and citizens announced their support for the protest movement by publishing posts on social media networks; in some instances, they were confronted by a swift response from security forces.
Based on the extent and speed of the arrests and summonses in-person and by phone – which sometimes occurred just moments after users published this material on social media – some cyberspace users speculated about the use of novel surveillance techniques and complex algorithms by security forces for tracking user activity and suppressing dissidents in the digital space. Filterban is not able to independently verify such claims.
In this same period, the Hejab and Chastity Support Law, which we have detailed in the previous report in this collection, entered into force for a three-month trial period after being approved by the Majles. The law provides the morality police an opportunity to intensify their conduct with individuals supporting freedom of dress, as well as women and girls who do not comply with wearing the hejab in the virtual space.
This conduct has affected a number of well-known cinema and theater actresses in Iran who, following last year’s countrywide uprising, became models of new norms of voluntary dress in Iranian society and appeared in public and artistic gatherings without a hejab. These acts earned them some of the most atypical judicial rulings, such as bans on online activity and prolonged, compulsory courses of psychotherapy “for norm-violating behavior.”
Another significant development in the period was authorities’ confrontation with knowledge-based companies on the pretext of the publication, in cyberspace, of images of their staff failing to comply with the hejab. This resulted in the shutdown of several online businesses for a period of several days.
Summons and Threats of the Families of Those Killed
In the past year, some of the families of individuals killed in the countrywide uprising have found a channel for petitioning for redress of grievances, seeking justice, and memorializing their loved ones in the existing, limited virtual space. On the eve the killing of their children, these families were subject to intense security pressure.
The Committee to Pursue the State of Detainees reported that in the month preceding the Mahsa-Jina Amini anniversary alone, August 17 to September 22, 2023), at least 32 people from among the families of those slain last year were arrested.
Following release and on the condition of anonymity, some of these families told Filterban that during detention or interrogation they were given warnings about “any kind of cyberspace activity” in the lead-up to the anniversary of the countrywide movement.
Kurdpa News Agency has published similar reports about prohibitions on the online activities of slain protesters’ families in Piranshahr and Mahabad.
Widespread Arrests of Social Media Users
In the lead-up to the anniversary of countrywide protests in Iran, law enforcement and security forces of the Islamic Republic conducted broad, countrywide arrests of individuals active in cyberspace. The arrests were made on charges such as “disturbing the public mind,” “incitement to chaos,” and “acting against national security.”
According to reports, more than 200 individuals active online were arrested in the provinces of Esfahan, Western Azerbaijan, Tehran, and Gilan. Moreover, more than 70 Instagram pages were restricted or deleted for publishing content which state authorities deemed to be “inciting chaos.” Unfortunately, information regarding the identity of these citizens, as well as the specific acts for which they were charged, is not available.
Intense and Swift Repression of Celebrities and Well-known Activists
In the two days preceding the Mahsa Amini anniversary, repression with scarce precedent played out in Persian-language cyberspace.
In this period, many reports were published concerning the arrest, summons, and threats by telephone of well-known individuals, students, and ordinary internet users by security forces. An unusual aspect was the speed with which the security forces acted to track and identify content sympathetic to the countrywide movement on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s disturbing death.
The sister of theatre and cinema actress Hanieh Tavassoli broke news of the latter’s arrest on her Instagram account: “My sister, Hanieh Tavassoli, was arrested at her house at 11:35 PM tonight and transferred to an unknown location.”
This arrest came an hour after Hanieh Tavassoli wrote a post on her Instagram in memory of Mahsa Amini, to whom she referred as a “legend,” on the Saturday coinciding with the anniversary of her death.
This model was repeated several times in the days leading to the anniversary, as well as the days which followed.
The Instagram page of Rasoul Khadem, a former world wrestling champion and one of Iran’s most well-respected sports figures whose career has also spanned management of the Wrestling Federation and membership in the Tehran city council, was made inaccessible after he published a sympathetic story on the Mahsa Amini anniversary. Ehtemad Online, citing a source close to Khadem, reported that “The deactivation of the page was not the decision of Mr. Khadem.”
Tweet from Zeinab Zaman:
“A few minutes ago, my interrogator called and told me to delete my story, I objected and asked him what was wrong with it, and that these days I’m not talking or doing any special kind of activism anymore… At the end of it he threatened me that they’d arrest me, my brother, and my spouse all together this time.”
Hanie Tavassoli has been arrested. Hanieh Tavassoli is one of the few artists who has not been quiet. Zeinab Zaman, a women’s rights activist, wrote on her account on the social network “X” (formerly Twitter) that she was contacted and threatened by her interrogator minutes after publishing a story objecting to the arrest of Hanieh Tavassoli.
Additionally, a student activist told Filterban of receiving a warning just moments after publishing a story on their private Instagram page.
Hejabless Women: Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
Authorities’ response to artists at the time of the Woman, Life, Freedom movement was a model that was repeated in the past year. In the most recent instance, Afsaneh Bayegan, Leyla Bolukat, and Azadeh Samadi, who had all protested compulsory dress in some form, were convicted in court.
The labels of “illegal,” “immoral,” “mentally ill,” and “antisocial personality” attributed to these artists in the verdicts were novel and unprecedented. In accordance with the court ruling, Afsaneh Bayegan and Azadeh Samadi were sentenced to visit a psychological facility along with jail time, and Leyla Bolukat has been sentenced to bans on working in the media and leaving the country and a five-yar ban on online activity, alongside 10 months of “ta’zir” incarceration.
These verdicts were met with widespread reactions from social media users and cinema guild activists. Many of these users thought the verdicts illegal and offensive.
In another report, Iranian pop singer Mehdi Yarahi was arrested at the order of the Tehran Prosecutor on Monday, August 28, 2023. The arrest came after Yarahi published a song entitled “Your Head Covering,” in which Yarahi again aligned himself with the Woman, Life, Freedom movement and Iranian women’s demands for freedom of dress.
Besides the mentioned names, many artists have been blacklisted from work or faced legal prosecution in the past year over their criticisms of compulsory dress.
Shutdowns of Startups over Hejab Non-Compliance: The Tip of the Iceberg
From late July to early August, a number of Iranian startups faced an intense response from various governmental institutions for publishing images of their employees failing to observe the Islamic hejab. This development was reckoned to be in line with efforts to counter hejab non-compliance in cyberspace and to return to pre-Mahsa movement standards.
But the widespread welcome this conduct received among the ruling political faction, and the backup it received from reactionary forces like Fars News Agency – affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – and Keyhan’s editor in chief Shariatmadari reflected a wider development: the homogenization of the startup space and the prioritization of regulation over development, with the motive of limiting the range of action of the part of the private sector not aligned with the government in the technological ecosystem of the country.
On Wednesday, July 6, 2023, following the publication of images of female employees of the online bookstore Taghche without the compulsory hejab, Mizan News Service announced a legal case had been opened against its staff. The news services Mehr and Fars, close to the Revolutionary Guards, broke news that a large group of publishers affiliated with the government had stopped partnering with Taghche, and its bookselling platform was made unavailable.
In another case, the central office of the startup Digikala was shuttered over the publication of a picture of a female employee without a hejab. The operating license of the insurance agency Azaki was similarly suspended owing to a picture that was published of the company’s female employees not complying with the Islam hejab.
These actions were met with widespread criticism from economic and social activists. Economic activists believe such measures will harm the country’s digital economy, in addition to creating more strictures for entrepreneurs and new businesses.
