Iran's Attorney General Warns Against Disrupting Presidential Election Atmosphere

Iran's Attorney General announced the monitoring of social media during the presidential elections and threatened action against those who intend to disrupt the electoral atmosphere. According to the state news agency IRNA, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri stated on Tuesday, April 3, that 'creating a healthy electoral atmosphere, ensuring election security, and dealing with criminals and individuals who intend to disrupt the electoral atmosphere are among our duties, and we will not neglect them.' He urged prosecutors across Iran to 'continuously monitor the virtual space and take immediate and legal action upon observing any violations.' Montazeri also called on election candidates and their supporters to refrain from 'destruction and insults to others and from violations and crimes, and if they do, they should not complain later about why a certain site was filtered or closed.' He added that speakers at election meetings are expected 'not to resort to negativity and to avoid insults and aggression towards others.' For several months, security officials and the judiciary have reported on 'monitoring the virtual space' and other measures to combat 'electoral crimes' and potential unrest. Hossein Zolfaqari, Deputy Security Minister, announced on January 3 that a 'security atlas' for the 96 presidential elections had been prepared and that 'arrangements' related to election security had begun five months prior. He also announced on February 25 the 'fundamental considerations' of this ministry for holding the 96 presidential elections, including the prohibition of publishing election results before the Ministry of Interior's announcement. A large part of these 'fundamental considerations for elections' recalls the protests against the results of the 2009 presidential elections. Mahmoud Alavi, Minister of Intelligence, also stated on March 12 that 'for a long time, an election headquarters' has been established in this ministry, and during the election competition, 'timely and preventive actions against destructive and negative activities' will be taken. This comes as several managers of Telegram channels and a number of journalists, including Morad Taghavi, Ehsan Mazandarani, and Hengameh Shahidi, were arrested last March. Hesamoddin Ashna, advisor to Hassan Rouhani, and several members of the reformist faction in the parliament, known as the 'Hope Faction,' reacted to these arrests, linking them to the 96 presidential election. Mahmoud Sadeghi, a representative from Tehran, wrote in a letter to Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Revolutionary Guards, that the arrest of managers of several political Telegram channels has sparked a 'wave of concern' regarding the 'commitment' to the promise of non-interference by this institution in the elections. During the 10th parliamentary elections last March, the 'Election Security Headquarters' was established to 'monitor the virtual space' to counter the 'destructive actions of enemies' and ensure election security by the Ministry of Intelligence, the Revolutionary Guards, and the police.