Hormozgan Police Arrested Their Critics on Social Media

The police in Hormozgan province arrested several of their critics on social media on charges of 'disturbing public opinion.' According to the Mehr News Agency, Colonel Ali-Asghar Khorram, the deputy commander of the police in Hormozgan province, announced the arrests on Thursday (December 3). Mr. Khorram did not specify the number of individuals arrested but stated that they were 'malicious' and 'opportunistic' individuals who 'disturbed public opinion on social media.' This police commander added that these individuals attempted to question 'the actions of the police in establishing and maintaining social and traffic order,' and that they were 'identified and arrested in the shortest possible time.' The deputy commander of the police in Hormozgan warned other critics of police policies to 'strictly refrain from repeating such behaviors, especially in cyberspace.' Approximately 24 hours after the announcement of these arrests, the police in Hormozgan have not provided further details about the arrests and their specific charges. Some of the arrests of online activists in Iran are carried out by the Cyber Police (FATA), which has seen a significant increase in its activities over the past month. The crackdown on citizens' actions in cyberspace intensified especially after the 2009 presidential election in Iran, and in recent years, units from the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Intelligence have also arrested several citizens due to their activities in cyberspace. Hossein Ashtari, the chief police commander, also announced that this force has started 'decisive action against reckless driving, unveiling, and norm-breakers' in Iran for the past month. It seems that the recent arrests made in Bandar Abbas are related to the criticisms directed at the police and the return of 'morality patrols' to the streets. Following reports of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's concerns about the statistics of 'social harms' in Iran, the police have resumed some of their missions and, in some cases, expanded them. Ashtari stated that 'the implementation of the social security plan {in the past month} has yielded very positive results and a good situation has prevailed in society.' He added that 'in this plan, efforts have been made to ensure that necessary actions are taken while respecting legal, religious, ethical, and Islamic compassion issues.' Meanwhile, some Iranian citizens have been arrested by the Cyber Police for expressing their political or religious views online. For instance, on November 9, 2012, Sattar Beheshti, a worker and Iranian blogger, was arrested by the Cyber Police and reportedly died in custody due to beatings. Additionally, Reza Moieni, head of the Iran section of Reporters Without Borders, stated on December 5 that according to available statistics, nearly 100 citizen bloggers have been arrested since August 2013, marking the beginning of Hassan Rouhani's presidency.