Entikhab Unblocked

The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has issued permission for the website "Entikhab" to resume operations nearly two months after its suspension. The newspaper "Arman Melli" reported on Wednesday, November 1, that Entikhab had been allowed to conduct any legal activities since October 22 based on a court ruling, but the Ministry had not communicated this. The website was suspended on September 4 due to accusations of "violating press laws and the resolutions of the Supreme National Security Council." The Fars news agency reported that during a meeting of the Press Supervisory Board, the publication of a video and report titled "The Auction of Iran's Brand / Why Has Iran's Foreign Policy Been So Weakened?" was examined, which contained content outside the legal limits and contrary to national interests and the fundamental policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran in foreign policy. According to Fars, the board issued a ruling for the suspension of this news site based on Clause 12 of the Press Law and decided to refer the case of the violation to the judicial authority for further investigation. The Iran newspaper, the state media organ, also referred to this news site on October 26 as the "official organ of the CIA" and stated that "this site often engaged in the targeted distribution of news under the guise of official media through methods such as blackening, editing, or distortion," which ultimately led to its suspension. The government organ accused Entikhab of "creating unrest regarding gasoline prices by spreading speculation, undermining national achievements in foreign policy, citing unreliable sources and irresponsible individuals, and inciting hatred through the editing of statements from Friday prayer leaders and religious speakers" in cyberspace. Strict control over news dissemination and the imposition of restrictions in various matters, as well as the detention of journalists, are among the methods used by the Islamic Republic to prevent the free flow of information. In the latest case, the Islamic Republic banned any reporting and information gathering regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of Armita Garavand. Armita Garavand, a 16-year-old girl, was attacked by a "morality police" officer on October 1, 2023, at the Shahid Square metro station in Tehran for not wearing mandatory hijab, and after being pushed, her head struck the edge of the train's exit door, leading to her coma. She died after 29 days in the hospital. During the incident of Mahsa Amini's death in the custody of the morality police, two journalists were also arrested and later sentenced to imprisonment after more than a year. Over the past four decades of the Islamic Republic's rule, many publications and news sites have been shut down, and a significant number of journalists and citizen journalists have been detained and imprisoned. A new wave of censorship in cyberspace; the judiciary has deemed "any content" that supports Israel as a "crime." Filtering is "fruitless but profitable"; 80% of Iranians use "VPNs." The market for VPNs is worth 30 trillion tomans; Iranians spend an average of 169 minutes online daily. Anniversary of Mahsa; report from the International Federation of Journalists on a year of repression of journalists and media in Iran.