Exclusive: Exposing the Case-Making Against Actors and Athletes for Supporting Protests; From Ali Daei and Saeed Marouf to Taraneh Alidoosti and Azadeh Samadi

Documents exclusively obtained by Voice of America reveal the names of artistic figures including Mahmoud Shahriari, Taraneh Alidoosti, Babak Ahmadi, Amir Maghareh, Mehran Modiri, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, Hediyeh Tehrani, Azadeh Samadi, Parviz Parastoui, Mahtab Nasirpour, and Hengameh Qaziani among a list compiled by intelligence agencies as 'specific figures.' Ali Daei, Voria Ghafouri, Hossein Mahini, and Aref Gholami are among the sports figures on this list. The closure of Ali Daei's restaurants and the travel ban on Saeed Marouf are other documents provided to Voice of America. The documents, provided by the hacker group 'Justice Ali,' show that the intelligence agencies of the Islamic Republic, in collaboration with several ministries and state media, have been managing 'specific figures' for years and have fabricated cases against some cultural and sports personalities. According to these documents, a committee titled 'Specific Figures' was formed within the Ministry of Interior's Security Council on October 4, 2022, just ten days after the protests began, based on 'reports from security and intelligence agencies.' Although other documents in Voice of America's possession indicate that a committee called 'Management of Figures' existed in 2018 and 2019 within the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which was in contact with intelligence agencies, the Supreme National Security Council, and several ministries and state media. The intelligence agencies' report emphasized that 'some specific sports, artistic, and cinematic figures' had taken positions on the nationwide protests and supported them, which 'led to increased mobilization among protesters' and 'instead of reducing tensions in society, contributed to creating unrest.' Consequently, the Ministry of Interior's Security Council decided at that time to form a permanent working group or committee titled 'Specific Figures (sports, artistic, cinematic, etc.)' in collaboration with the 'Specific Figures Committee of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance' within the Security and Law Enforcement Deputy of the Ministry of Interior to make decisions about them in 'security conditions.' Decisions were made based on 'containing' the nationwide protests with 'the least cost and maximum benefit' and creating 'alignment with the system's principles,' as well as cooperation between the 'Intelligence Organization of the IRGC, the Ministry of Culture, and the Ministry of Intelligence' for 'information exchange among the intelligence community' of the Islamic Republic, among other decisions taken in this committee. The leaked document from the judiciary by the hacker group 'Justice Ali' exclusively provided to Voice of America lists artistic and sports figures including Ali Daei, Voria Ghafouri, Hossein Mahini, Mahmoud Shahriari, Taraneh Alidoosti, Babak Ahmadi, Amir Maghareh, Mehran Modiri, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, Hediyeh Tehrani, Azadeh Samadi, Parviz Parastoui, Mahtab Nasirpour, and Hengameh Qaziani among those compiled by intelligence agencies as 'specific figures.' Meanwhile, some other sports and cultural figures who faced legal cases during the nationwide protests or were arrested and imprisoned are not mentioned in these documents. According to another section of these documents, the IRGC's intelligence organization, in a letter to Ali Alghasi Mehr, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, acknowledged the 'special role and position of celebrities in people's orientations' and the 'impact of their virtual activities' on 'the thoughts and lifestyles of users,' having fabricated a case against Saeed Marouf, a prominent Iranian volleyball figure, describing some of his statements on social media as 'in line with blackening and disturbing public opinion.' In this document, the legal deputy of the IRGC's intelligence organization considered one of Saeed Marouf's Instagram posts 'in line with inciting public opinion and supporting gatherings' and requested the judiciary to 'summon and ban him from leaving the country.' According to a leaked letter signed by Mohammad Javad Azadi, head of the public and revolutionary prosecutor's office in Tehran, addressed to Ali Ghanatkar, the deputy prosecutor and head of the public and revolutionary court of Tehran's district 33, based on the 'thirteenth session of the Specific Figures Committee' in the Security Council, the Tehran prosecutor's office was requested to 'consider closing Ali Daei's restaurants' and to 'summon' journalist Pejman Rahbar, and 'if he does not cooperate, to arrest him.' This document also details the case-making by the IRGC's intelligence organization against Parviz Parastoui, Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, and Hengameh Qaziani. Based on documents obtained by Voice of America, the actions of the Islamic Republic's institutions for 'managing figures' had been ongoing even before the nationwide protests of 2022. In another document with the letterhead of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, a meeting with '25 figures' was mentioned, which discussed 'warning about the decline of social trust in the government and authority,' 'criticism of the method of interaction with the world,' 'creating a safe and open space for criticism by famous individuals,' and 'concerns about the state of violence in society and the behavior of the general public in cyberspace.' It was emphasized in the summary of this meeting that 'the atmosphere prevailing over the meeting and its aftermath was completely positive and empathetic' and 'the attendees left the meeting with satisfaction.' According to documentation from another page of this meeting's minutes, it is clear that the joint working group titled 'Management of Figures' under the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance had been active before the nationwide protests of 2022, as this document refers to a meeting held on July 2, 2019. Another document marked 'very confidential' dated November 12, 2019, shows that the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance submitted a report from the 'joint working group for managing figures (celebrities)' to the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Tehran, requesting actions to 'monitor' 'sports, cultural, and artistic figures,' as the Ministry of Guidance stated, 'preventing damages that could lead to the waste of these resources is a matter of reason.' This document relates to a meeting just a few days before the sudden announcement of gasoline price hikes and the beginning of the nationwide protests in November 2019, during which hundreds of protesters were killed by the Islamic Republic's forces. This document emphasizes that the 'secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council' had entered the issue of 'managing figures' and after 'holding several meetings with representatives of relevant agencies,' it was decided to form a 'joint working group' with the responsibility of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance and membership of representatives from the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the state media as specialized agencies responsible for managing figures, as well as the Ministry of Intelligence, the IRGC's intelligence organization, and the NAJA security police as monitoring agencies for the activities of figures in the media space, to 'manage the administrative affairs of figures with complete coordination and division of responsibilities.' This 'very confidential' document also states that up to this date, '19 meetings' have been held, including '17 regular meetings every two weeks and two extraordinary meetings,' to 'determine the duties' of the member agencies of this working group, and one of its actions was 'categorizing figures based on their positions regarding the Islamic system.' According to this document, sports, cultural, and artistic figures have been divided into several groups of 'aligned,' 'unaligned,' 'critical,' and 'neutral' figures, and it has been determined that their posts in social media are 'negative,' 'critical,' 'neutral,' or 'positive.' In line with controlling and managing 'specific figures,' this working group decided to 'create work for figures' to provide conditions for 'utilizing the capacities and talents of those ready' in 'permitted, positive, and purposeful projects and activities' for the government, and to prevent 'deviations, errors,' and 'potential crimes' that could 'harm the dignity and credibility of the figure.' The duties of each of the agencies, including the security of organizations, law enforcement, the Ministry of Intelligence, the IRGC's intelligence organization, and the judiciary, are mentioned in these documents, and 'about 300 individuals identified as influential figures' in the fields of 'acting and performance, music and singing, and sports' have been identified, and an 'independent electronic file' has been created for each, with their activities on social networks, including 'Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook,' being 'monitored and collected.' The justification of figures on how to deal with events, including 'elections,' and the pathology of cooperation with 'cinema figures with judicial convictions' and 'Iranian filmmakers residing abroad' are among other issues mentioned in this document. In another letter dated November 24, 2018, marked 'very confidential' and addressed to Abbas Salehi, the then Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance, it was emphasized that 'negative positions and messages published by figures for the general public contain harm.' The Supreme National Security Council warned the Ministry of Guidance that the publication of these figures' opinions by free media and opposing political currents, referred to here as 'opponents and counter-revolutionaries,' is 'considered a threat.' In this 'very confidential' letter, institutions such as the Ministry of Guidance, state media, and the Ministry of Sports and Youth are introduced as 'responsible for managing figures,' and they are requested to submit their 'documented proposals' for 'identifying and introducing new legitimate and aligned figures' in various fields in accordance with 'moral, national values, and the principles of the Islamic Revolution' to the secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council. Another document obtained by the Persian section of Voice of America relates to the 'disciplinary guidelines for the protection of cultural, artistic, and sports figures.' In part of this document, it is emphasized that 'collaboration of figures with those artists who have judicial convictions and whose status has been directly or indirectly communicated through security or the relevant protective center, and in the issued rulings, explicitly mention social restrictions, especially the prohibition of artistic activities by them, is prohibited.' According to this guideline, 'any participation and cooperation' of specific figures with 'foreign nationals inside and outside the country' is only possible with 'permission and approval from relevant administrative authorities.' It is also emphasized that 'the communication and contact of artistic and sports figures' with individuals described as 'known counter-revolutionaries, opponents, and adversaries' is prohibited. This guideline was approved on September 14, 2019. In this guideline, points regarding 'the activity of figures in elections' are also mentioned, emphasizing that the Islamic Republic expects cultural and sports figures to adhere to the regime's 'strategy for maximum participation' in elections and to promote the 'strengths and achievements' of the regime. 'Fostering hope for the future and solving the country's problems with the aim of public resilience,' encouraging people to participate in elections, 'promoting the criteria for selecting the right candidate,' 'creating electoral enthusiasm,' and 'careful use of materials presented in the media of adversaries' are listed as 'musts' expected from figures in the electoral arena. Additionally, artistic and sports personalities are requested to avoid engaging in discussions raised by groups labeled as 'foreigners and counter-revolutionaries' and to refrain from 'blackening, creating anxiety, and negative propaganda.'