Pressure from the Islamic Republic on Cyber Activists; 10 More Arrested in Gilan

Continuing the arrests of cyber activists in Iran, police officials in Gilan province reported the arrest of 10 individuals in the cities of Rasht and Amol on charges of 'disturbing public opinion'. The police commander of Gilan, Azizollah Maleki, announced on Thursday, September 30, that six individuals running social media pages were arrested for 'intending to disturb public opinion' and 'inciting individuals to disrupt public order and security'. Islamic Republic officials often do not provide specific instances for such accusations. Prior to the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, government agents had arrested a large number of citizens across Iran. The wave of arrests continues, and civil and labor activists as well as journalists remain at risk of detention. The police commander of Gilan also accused the detainees of 'planning to create unrest' without mentioning their identities and stated that their social media pages had been blocked and 'a large number of tools and instruments for committing crimes' had been discovered. He did not provide details about the nature of these 'tools and instruments' or how they were used to 'commit crimes', nor did he mention the names of the blocked social media pages. Islamic Republic officials refer to protests as 'unrest' and label protesters as 'rioters', suppressing them. Simultaneously, the police commander of Amol, Sharif Rahimi, reported the arrest of four individuals, two men and two women, on charges of 'publishing offensive content' and 'disturbing public opinion in cyberspace'. He did not explain the content of the published materials and, without providing any evidence, described cyberspace as a 'tool of the enemy's soft war' aimed at 'changing lifestyles, culture, beliefs, and customs of societies'. Islamic Republic officials have consistently pressured critics and dissenting activists with accusations of involvement in a 'soft war' against the government. This news comes as 24 cyber activists were recently arrested on similar charges of 'intending to disturb public opinion and inciting to disrupt public order and security' in nine cities of Gilan province. The police commander of West Azerbaijan province also reported on Saturday, September 25, coinciding with the anniversary of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini's death, the arrest of 137 individuals on charges of 'disturbing public opinion in cyberspace'. Human Rights Watch has emphasized in a statement that Islamic Republic officials have increased the repression of opponents through intimidation, arrests, and prosecutions. The Committee for Monitoring the Status of Detainees: At least 600 women were arrested on September 25. Summons and arrests of dozens of civil activists continue, and pressure on plaintiffs persists. Several labor activists and teachers have been arrested in various cities of Iran. The arrest of 24 cyber activists in Gilan on charges of 'inciting to disrupt public order'.