Several Arrested in Sistan and Baluchestan on Charges of Connection with Foreign Media

The Intelligence Organization of the IRGC announced that several individuals have been arrested in Sistan and Baluchestan province on charges of connection with foreign media; simultaneously, a lawyer in Isfahan reported the summons of administrators of 10 Telegram channels. Iranian media reported the arrests in Sistan and Baluchestan on Tuesday, July 9, citing the IRGC's Intelligence Organization of the province. This organization referred to the arrested individuals as 'network leaders of hostile foreign media' and stated that some channels were 'spreading lies and divisive content' in cyberspace by 'recruiting and training a number of unaware youths,' without disclosing the identities of those arrested or the exact number. The IRGC and other security agencies in Iran have previously arrested individuals on charges of 'connection' and 'collaboration' with Persian-language media abroad, but these individuals have denied such charges after their release. The news of the recent arrests comes less than a month after a gathering in Iranshahr where people protested against the assault on several girls. Following that gathering, the manager of the 'Baluch Activists Campaign' reported that his brother, Abdollah Bozorgzadeh, was arrested during the protests. The Iran Human Rights Campaign announced on Tuesday that Mr. Bozorgzadeh is still detained in an unknown location, and Iranian judicial authorities have remained silent regarding the charges against him. Ibrahim Hamidi, the head of the judiciary in Sistan and Baluchestan, last month accused the arrested individual of 'inciting the public and preparing documents for foreign media' without naming anyone specifically. Gholamghader Bozorgzadeh, Abdollah's father, staged a sit-in in front of the IRGC in Iranshahr on July 5, demanding information about his son's status. Following this sit-in, the Human Rights Campaign reported that Abdollah Bozorgzadeh 'after 20 days of silence... made a brief call to his mother at 1 AM, saying he was fine but did not disclose his location.' On the same day, lawyer Payam Darvishan reported the summons of several Telegram channel administrators to the judicial complex in Isfahan. According to Mr. Darvishan, these individuals had previously registered their Telegram channels with the Ministry of Culture, and after Telegram was filtered, they were informed that activities on this messaging platform 'are a crime and will be prosecuted.' He, who represents one of these individuals, stated that they were summoned to the Isfahan judicial complex after this message. Most of these individuals are women managing channels related to 'pastry, cake-making, or topics concerning art and women.' Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the first deputy and spokesperson of the Iranian judiciary, called on Iranian citizens to leave Telegram on Saturday, June 1, stating that continued use of this messaging app 'could lead to criminal charges.' Abdolsamad Khorramabadi, the deputy attorney general, also stated on Saturday, May 18, that due to the filtering of Telegram, 'advertising and service activities' of guilds on this messaging platform 'are prohibited' and the Ministry of Industry and guild organizations must address this issue. The Tehran Public Prosecutor's Office issued the order to filter Telegram on April 29. A month after this action, however, Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, reported on the 'resistance' of Iranian users against the judicial order to block Telegram, stating that only one million users left the app after its filtering. International organizations have consistently described Iran as one of the 'main enemies' of the internet and cyberspace in recent years. For instance, Reporters Without Borders has labeled the Iranian government as an 'enemy of the internet' alongside several other governments, and the Freedom House Institute placed the Islamic Republic at the bottom of the 'internet freedom' rankings in one of its latest reports.