Seizure of Hundreds of Thousands of Satellite Dishes and Arrest of 193 Satellite Installers in the First Seven Months of 2016

The head of the Greater Tehran Police announced that in the first seven months of this year, 713,546 satellite dishes, 923,299 LNBs, and 10,766 satellite receivers were seized, and 193 individuals who were installing satellites were arrested. According to ISNA news agency, Alireza Lotfi stated on Saturday, November 22, during a meeting of law enforcement officials with the Tehran prosecutor that the police are "focused on installers and related gangs." The Tehran prosecutor also mentioned that some officials, by presenting statistics such as that 60% of the population uses satellites, are "attempting to negate the actions of the police and the prosecutor's office in combating satellites and collecting their equipment." Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi emphasized that officials should not "hinder the duties" of law enforcement officers in the fight against satellite equipment collection. The "ban on the use of satellite equipment" was approved by the Iranian parliament on February 11, 1995, and under this law, the import, distribution, and use of satellite reception equipment is prohibited unless specified in the law. Previously, the Research Center of the Parliament announced that the law banning satellite use has lost its effectiveness, and efforts to pass a new law have failed due to a lack of a unified policy. Meanwhile, Ali Jannati, the former Minister of Culture, on Tuesday, July 12, called for reform of the law prohibiting the broadcast of movie trailers on satellite networks and stated that at least 70% of Iranians own satellites. Nevertheless, the Tehran prosecutor threatened that if the Ministry of Culture and other agencies do not fulfill their duties regarding the so-called "hostile" satellite networks and those cooperating with them, "appropriate measures will be pursued and taken." He emphasized that advertising for Iranian films and products on these so-called "hostile" satellite networks is prohibited, and cultural officials must implement the "judicial orders of the prosecutor's office" in this regard. In recent months, the issue of broadcasting advertisements for some films currently screening from the GEM satellite network has led to judicial action, and in June, producers of three films "Nameless Alley," "Eternal and a Day," and "50 Kilos of Cherry" were summoned to the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office in this context. In the meeting on Saturday, the deputy prosecutor and special investigator for the GEM satellite network case, Mr. Mansouri, stated that "the GEM satellite network currently operates with 23 channels and eight bases." According to this report, a representative of the police security force, whose name was not mentioned, also announced that some phone lines related to advertisers on satellite networks have been blocked, and 58 "advertising brand operators" have been referred to court. The GEM television network started operating in 2006, and GEM Online was launched by this group in 2010. Several Iranian actors who previously worked inside Iran have joined this television network.