Government Agents Arrest a 'Prominent Blogger' in Zahedan

Government pressures on citizens and social media activists in Sistan and Baluchestan province continue, with the latest case being the arrest of a blogger and satirist in Zahedan by the IRGC intelligence forces. 'Halosh', which covers news from Sistan and Baluchestan, reported that Mohammad Toutazahi was arrested on Wednesday, February 11, without a judicial warrant and transferred to an unknown location. Halosh stated that a few hours after the arrest of this social media activist, his personal page and channel on Instagram became inaccessible. According to Halosh, there is no information available regarding the charges against this Baluch citizen. Reports indicate that on Friday, January 29, 1402, a Baluch teenager active on social media was also arrested by the Zahedan intelligence department without a judicial warrant and transferred to an unknown location. The crackdown on social media activists in Zahedan intensified after the government forces arrested Abubakar Touhidi, son of Mowlavi Nematollah Touhidi and a cameraman from Dar al-Uloom Makki in Zahedan, on November 15. Less than a month ago, five bloggers residing in Zarand County were summoned to the public and revolutionary court on charges of 'distributing inappropriate films and images on social media'. Reza Yaqoubi, the prosecutor of Zarand, stated in an interview with domestic media that a legal case had been filed against five citizens in Zarand County. However, he did not mention the identities of these individuals or the charges against them. He claimed that through the moral security police, he became aware of the activities of these bloggers, alleging that they published 'images contrary to public morals and decency on social media'. The prosecutor further stated that these bloggers were informed of the charges by the public and revolutionary court investigator, and a security measure was issued for them. This judicial official did not refer to the content of these blogs but mentioned that earning income and advertising on social media must comply with 'respect for laws and religious beliefs'. In recent years, the 'Criminal Content Identification Working Group' of the judiciary has criminalized the activities of social media users under various pretexts using provisions from the 'Protection Plan' and 'violations of user privacy under the seventh development plan', leading to the arrest and detention of dozens of prominent social media activists under the pretext of not adhering to ethical standards and publishing criminal content. Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 177th out of 180 countries in terms of freedom of expression in its May report. In the 2023 ranking by Reporters Without Borders, only three countries—Vietnam, China, and North Korea—have a worse situation than Iran. According to this report, the suppression of protests in 1401 has lowered Iran's rankings in the 'social environment' and 'judicial environment' indices.