{"id":3986,"date":"2022-10-26T20:08:10","date_gmt":"2022-10-26T20:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/filter.watch\/en\/?p=3986"},"modified":"2025-05-11T08:05:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T08:05:45","slug":"fatawatch-april-june-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filter.watch\/english\/2022\/10\/26\/fatawatch-april-june-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"FATAwatch: April – June 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

From early April through June, FATA cyber police frequently issued the following charges to citizens for their online activities: \u201cpropaganda against the state,\u201d \u201cdisturbing public opinion,\u201d \u201cpromoting promiscuity and moral corruption,\u201dand \u201cpublication of immoral material.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s lifestyles are among other activities that the cyber police is now taking on.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Confronting rumor mongers<\/b><\/h2>\n

The effects of the so-called<\/span> economic surgery<\/span><\/a> 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 <\/span>internet disruptions<\/span><\/a> imposed by authorities. As the protests spread, so has the government\u2019s determination to clamp down on both online and offline dissent, most recently by introducing a program to fight online rumors.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d<\/span> said<\/span><\/a> Col. Ramin Pashaie, FATA\u2019s deputy chief in charge of cultural and social affairs in April. He did not provide any further details.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Several weeks later, Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stressed the same point in a speech to judiciary officials. \u201cWhat\u2019s the meaning of psychological safety? It means people\u2019s minds shouldn\u2019t be polluted with rumors, lies and fearful talk on a daily basis,\u201d he<\/span> said<\/span><\/a> on June 28. \u201cIn the past, it was the newspapers who did these sorts of things but now there\u2019s cyberspace as well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In February 2021, the Cyberspace Supreme Council ratified a<\/span> policy directive<\/span><\/a> on \u201cpreventing and countering false information and fake news on the Internet\u201d that called on several ministries, the judiciary, and the state-owned broadcaster to take the necessary steps to comply.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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 \u201cdisturbing public opinion\u201d to a wide range of instances, which undermines freedom of expression even further.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The youth make news<\/b><\/h2>\n

In late June, a viral<\/span> video<\/span><\/a> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

The incident was particularly controversial given that it coincided with the release of \u201c<\/span>Hello Commander<\/span><\/a>\u201d - a<\/span> propaganda<\/span><\/a> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, as we present below, the arrest of teenagers for their \u201cimmoral\u201d activities online tells a different narrative.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The \u201cUser Protection Plan\u201d: a multi-headed dragon<\/b><\/h2>\n

During this quarter, public debate intensified over the \u201cUser <\/span>Protection Plan<\/span><\/a>,\u201d a controversial bill which has been floating around for some time under varying titles. One of the bill\u2019s proposed measures is to default to Google Safe Search for all users, regardless of age. The proposal<\/span> reportedly<\/span><\/a> came from the Telecommunication Infrastructure Company (TIC), a state-owned telecom firm connected with the implementation of the National Information Network (NIN).<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s<\/span> warning<\/span><\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Suppressing non-Islamic lifestyles<\/b><\/h2>\n

Non-Islamic, liberal lifestyles came under attack during this period as well. Online dating pages known as \u201ccrush\u201d are a recent popular phenomenon which have come under FATA\u2019s scrutiny. In addition, during the fasting month of Ramadan, Iranian influencers received <\/span>warnings<\/span><\/a> from the FATA police for their food-related posts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

As censorship increases, fewer people escape prosecution. During this quarter, the judiciary opened a case against an unnamed<\/span> former Member of Parliament<\/span><\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

April 9, 2022<\/b> - The prosecutor in Neyshabour, northeastern Iran,<\/span> ordered<\/span><\/a> the arrest of three teenage girls for publishing a dance video on social media.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

April 11<\/b> - A citizen was<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> in eastern Tehran for \u201cpromoting promiscuity and moral corruption\u201d through photographs on an Instagram page.<\/span><\/p>\n

April 12<\/b> - The prosecutor in Qazvin, northern Iran, announced the<\/span> arrest<\/span><\/a> of a citizen on charges of blasphemy and propaganda against the state through online content. The person\u2019s identity and post contents are unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n

April 17<\/b> - A citizen was<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> in North Khorasan province for allegedly posting immoral content online. The exact nature of the content or the person\u2019s identity or place of residence are unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n

April 20<\/b> - At least two human<\/span> couriers<\/span><\/a> (known as \u201ckulbar\u201d 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\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

April 24<\/b> - The Evin security court prosecutor<\/span> charged<\/span><\/a> women\u2019s rights activist Maryam Rahmani. Rahmani wrote on Instagram: \u201cYesterday I went to Branch 1 of the Shahid Moghaddas (Evin) court and was charged with \u2018propaganda against the state\u2019 and \u2018publishing falsehoods on the Internet.\u2019 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\u2019t 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\u2019t have a single photo or any of my journal diaries. My articles, dissertation and unfinished projects have all disappeared.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

April 27<\/b> -\u00a0 Three individuals were<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> for running Instagram \u201ccrush\u201d dating pages, according to the Kerman province chief of police who described the content as \u201cimmoral\u201d and \u201ccontrary to norms.\u201d The identities of the detainees are unknown.<\/span><\/p>\n

May 10<\/b> -\u00a0 The judiciary brought<\/span> charges<\/span><\/a> 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. \u201cThe only way the Revolutionary Guards will return to the barracks is if they remain on the U.S. sanctions list,\u201d she said in a Clubhouse discussion on April 16. A few days later, an old<\/span> video<\/span><\/a> 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<\/span> apology<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

May 10<\/b> -\u00a0 A<\/span> case was opened<\/span><\/a> 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. \u201cEveryone involved in the media or on the Internet should be careful about what they publish,\u201d he said. Khodaian was referring to Aminabadi\u2019s interview with Didehban in which he criticized Speaker of the Parliament Ghalibaf and<\/span> tweeted<\/span><\/a> about it on April 26.<\/span><\/p>\n

May 15<\/b> -\u00a0 The admin of a Telegram channel was<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

May 19<\/b> -\u00a0 Mahyar Taghikhani, a social media activist in Karaj, was transferred to prison to begin a<\/span> six-month sentence<\/span><\/a>. The local prosecutor had taken him to court for presenting the Friday prayer leader of Karaj with a simple question. According to documentary maker<\/span> Javad Mogouie<\/span><\/a>, \u201cSix 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\u2019s sense of justice. Sometime later, Mahyar Taghikhani, a reporter in Karaj, made a live Instagram video and asked the Friday prayer leader of Karaj: \u201cwould you have criticized your daughter if she had done the same?\u2019 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

May 28<\/b> -\u00a0 An individual was<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> in North Khorasan province and charged with \u201cpublishing falsehoods with the intention to disturb public opinion\u201d on Instagram. No other details have been made public about the identity of the arrested individual or the nature of the Instagram posts.<\/span><\/p>\n

May 28<\/b> - Iran\u2019s Audio-Visual Mass Media Regulatory Organization (aka SATRA)<\/span> warned<\/span><\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

June 10<\/b> - \u201cA woman around 30 years of age\u201d was<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

June 12<\/b> - A man was<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> in Farouj, North Khorasan province, accused of \u201cdisturbing public opinion of the internet.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

June 13<\/b> - An unidentified individual was<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> in North Khorasan province for \u201cdisturbing public opinion on the Internet\u201d by \u201cposting slanderous clips.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

June 14<\/b> - The Cyber Police Chief said several individuals were<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> in Tehran, Bushehr, West Azerbaijan, Zanjan, and Shiraz for \u201cmaking immoral live videos and promoting promiscuity.\u201d The number of people arrested remains unknown. Also on this day, FATA\u2019s cultural and social affairs deputy said a<\/span> case<\/span><\/a> had been opened against a boy and two girls for \u201cmaking immoral clips.\u201d The two girls were summoned and summoned for criminal charges.<\/span><\/p>\n

June 15<\/b> - An individual was<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> for managing an Instagram dating page for students in universities in Tehran. The FATA police declared that such content violated its red line regarding \u201cimmoral and unconventional\u201d dating pages. Also on this day, one person was<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> 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\u00a0 in Iran.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

June 21<\/b> - According to a decree by the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council, \u201cappearance of<\/span> women in advertising<\/span><\/a> is prohibited,\u201d AsrIran website reported. It was in response to a sexually-suggestive commercial<\/span> video<\/span><\/a> for Domino ice cream, which became an Internet hit. The anti-vice unit of the judiciary<\/span> filed a complaint<\/span><\/a> against the dairy company for \u201cinsulting the exalted status of women\u201d and \u201cpromoting indecency.\u201d The same company had been accused of taking advantage of women\u2019s physical appearance in<\/span> another commercial video<\/span><\/a> a year earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n

June 24<\/b> - The prosecutor\u2019s office in Shiraz ordered the arrest of a number of skateboarders after a<\/span> video<\/span><\/a> 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\u2019s civic center to mark \u201cGo Skateboarding Day\u201d on June 21. Shiraz Friday prayer leader, Ayatollah Lotfollah Dejkam,<\/span> called the video<\/span><\/a> \u201ca soft war waged by enemies of the Islamic Republic.\u201d Lotfollah Sheibani, the city\u2019s governor,<\/span> commented<\/span><\/a>: \u201csuch behaviors didn\u2019t even exist in ancient Persia, before the dawn of Islam, so there\u2019s no excuse for them. We strongly condemn these acts and wil take wrongdoers to court.\u201d The social and cultural affairs director of the governor\u2019s office in Fars province, Hossein Haghayeghi,<\/span> emphasized<\/span><\/a> that \u201cbreaking norms and taboos is unacceptable in an Islamic country.\u201d As a result of this backlash, the athletic director for youth in Fars province and the head of the skateboarding program were<\/span> sacked<\/span><\/a> and Bdood bicycle sharing app, the event\u2019s sponsor, was<\/span> shut down<\/span><\/a>. Previously, the app had been criticized by<\/span> hardline state media<\/span><\/a>, as well as the religious<\/span> seminary school<\/span><\/a> in Fars province, for allowing women to use its services.<\/span><\/p>\n

June 25<\/b> - The admin of an Instagram page was<\/span> arrested<\/span><\/a> in Bojnourd, North Khorasan province, for allegedly posting \u201cimmoral and indecent\u201d photos. No information is available about the identity of the arrested individual.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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 \u201cimmorality\u201d and \u201cindecency\u201d by Iran\u2019s security establishment must be told. We welcome emails from those whose rights have been violated merely for pursuing a different lifestyle.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From early April through June, FATA cyber police frequently issued the following charges to citizens for their online activities: \u201cpropaganda against the state,\u201d \u201cdisturbing public opinion,\u201d \u201cpromoting promiscuity and moral corruption,\u201dand \u201cpublication of immoral material.\u201d\u00a0 Previously, FATA was more engaged in confronting gambling sites and online fraud. In an apparent turn of priorities, however, itContinue reading \"FATAwatch: April – June 2022\"<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":3988,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyber-threat-reports","entry"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t