Revolutionary Prosecutor of Ardabil: We Destroyed a Vulgarly Modeling Network

Nasser Atabati, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Ardabil, announced the "destruction of a vulgar modeling network" and the arrest of "more than 20 individuals" in this city in connection with it. This judicial official of Iran stated that the aim of confronting this group, which has intensified in various parts of Iran in recent months, is to "support the family structure and the Islamic community." On Tuesday, September 8, Mr. Atabati told the judiciary news agency, Mizan, that the "activities of the members of this network" were in line with "increasing public demands for dealing with cybercriminals and aimed at supporting the family structure and the Islamic community" and that they were "monitored and identified in cooperation with the IRGC Intelligence Organization, the Information and Security Police, and the Cyber Police under the prosecutor's directive." The public and revolutionary prosecutor of Ardabil also stated that this network "carried out its criminal activities through several beauty salons, fashion houses, and photography studios." Nasser Atabati reported the arrest of "more than 20 individuals" and the "closure of four well-known women's beauty salons and six large photography studios" during these operations. In this context, IRNA, the Islamic Republic News Agency, also reported, citing the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Ardabil, that "several women acted as models in collaboration with some beauty salons and several photography studios to produce vulgar and uncovered images, which are incompatible with any religious, ethical, legal, or ideological principles." Mr. Atabati added: "Individuals as managers of several pages on Facebook and Instagram published vulgar photos under the name of Ardabil, some of which had between 70,000 to 80,000 followers." In just the past two days, security and judicial institutions of the Islamic Republic have reported the summons or arrest of dozens of individuals active in the field of "modeling" on social networks. This includes the arrest of 50 individuals in Kurdistan province and the summons and arrest of about 170 modeling group managers in Fars province, as announced by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Many government and security officials of the Islamic Republic refer to the internet and social networks as tools of "soft warfare" and "Western espionage" and call for strict oversight or blocking of them. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, has also referred to the "virtual space" several times as a "real battlefield" and stated that "clergymen and students must be armed and ready to confront doubts and erroneous and deviant thoughts." Mr. Khamenei also mentioned on Wednesday, September 3, in a meeting with government officials that the virtual space "can bring both great opportunities and threats."