According to the Khorasan newspaper published in Mashhad, the Cyber Police affiliated with the Islamic Republic's Law Enforcement has arrested four individuals in this city on charges of 'insulting sacred values' on 'Viber'. As reported by the Khabar Online website citing this newspaper, 'a citizen' filed a complaint against several individuals for 'creating a group on the Viber social network' and 'publishing insulting content' in this group, requesting the identification and prosecution of these individuals. In part of the complaint, the private complainant stated: 'While I have filed the complaint, I warned the group administrators to stop their behavior, but they responded to me with insults and disrespect.' According to the report, after the case was filed at the Shahid Ghadoosi Judicial Complex in Mashhad, the contents and documents of the case were reviewed by a special judge for combating cyber crimes, who ordered the Cyber Police to identify and arrest the suspects. The Khorasan newspaper further reported that after identification, the Cyber Police arrested four of the perpetrators and transferred them to the judicial complex. The arrest of several individuals for publishing specific content on Viber comes at a time when discussions about filtering 'Viber' have emerged in recent weeks, leading to various opinions. In this regard, Reza Taghipour, former Minister of Communications in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government, told Fars News Agency that 'the harm of Viber and WhatsApp outweighs their benefits, and there should be no hesitation in filtering these networks.' On the other hand, Mohammad Reza Sadegh, media advisor to the President of Iran, announced that 'Viber' will not be filtered, stating to Khabar Online that 'the issue of filtering Viber did not receive a vote in the working group determining criminal content and was not approved.' Ramadanali Sobhanifar, a member of the working group determining criminal content on the internet, responsible for filtering in Iran, also told ISNA that 'Viber and Instagram programs will not be filtered, but their content will be filtered.'
Four Arrested for 'Insulting Sacred Values' on Viber
Four individuals were arrested in Mashhad for allegedly insulting sacred values on the Viber messaging platform. A citizen filed a complaint after being insulted by group members who shared offensive content. This incident raises concerns about censorship and the ongoing debate over the potential filtering of social media in Iran.
👥 Key Players
📰 What Happened
Four individuals were arrested in Mashhad for allegedly insulting sacred values on the Viber platform. This incident has sparked discussions about the potential filtering of social media in Iran.
- A citizen filed a complaint against the individuals for creating a group on Viber and sharing insulting content.
- The arrests were made by the Cyber Police following a judicial order.
💡 Why It Matters
📚 Background
Iran has a history of strict internet censorship, with authorities frequently blocking or filtering platforms deemed harmful to national security or cultural values.
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Translation confidence: 85%