Summoning or Arresting 'Dozens of Cyber Activists' in Kurdistan and Fars Provinces by the IRGC

One day after the news of the 'crackdown' on 50 individuals in Kurdistan due to their activities in the virtual space in areas such as 'modeling', the IRGC in Fars Province announced that 'about 170 group managers of modeling' in this province have been summoned and some of them have been arrested. The website of the IRGC in Fars Province announced on Sunday, September 7, that a number of managers and users of the virtual space who were active in areas described by this organization as 'against moral security, criminal modeling cycle, and insulting religious beliefs' have been summoned or arrested. This website quoted an unnamed IRGC official in Fars Province stating that 'about 170 group or social channel managers' who were active on messaging apps and social networks such as Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram have been summoned, and some have also been arrested. The IRGC's website in Fars Province did not mention the number of those arrested in its report. One day prior to this report, the IRGC in Kurdistan had reported a 'crackdown' on 50 individuals in this province who were said to be active in Telegram and Instagram in the fields of 'modeling, women's hairdressing, photography studios, and tattooing' and were publishing 'vulgar and immoral images'. This organization also did not provide details about the crackdown on these 50 individuals in its announcement. It emphasized that 'due to the negligence of cultural institutions and the ignorance of professions and unions', some photography studios, beauty salons, and boutiques have turned into places for 'promoting corruption and prostitution' and were publishing 'vulgar and immoral images of individuals and families' in the virtual space. On September 2, the Tasnim news agency, citing the IRGC in Kermanshah, reported the arrest of '25 admins' of a network deemed 'immoral' by this organization. The IRGC accused the detainees of managing hundreds of pages and groups in social networks related to 'modeling, immoral relationships, promoting prostitution, etc., and encouraging about 400,000 people to participate in these networks and recruiting them'. Some human rights websites, while republishing this news, stated that these individuals were active on Telegram. However, Mojtaba Maleki, the public and revolutionary prosecutor of Kermanshah, on Sunday denied the reports about the arrest of individuals due to their activities on social networks like Telegram, calling them 'false' and stating that 'no judicial order' has been issued in this regard. According to the Mizan news agency, he added: 'Unfortunately, individuals and media opposed to the Islamic Republic of Iran are trying in every way to disturb the calm and secure psychological atmosphere of the people of the country, especially in Kermanshah, which will not be achieved with the efforts and determination of the people and officials.' The IRGC has also reported several times in recent months about crackdowns on modeling pages on social networks. For instance, the Cyber Organized Crime Center, affiliated with the IRGC, reported on Tuesday, September 2, that 'managers' of 450 pages, channels, or groups on mobile social networks have been arrested or summoned on charges such as 'criminal modeling' and 'insulting religious beliefs'. This center had also announced on May 26 that in a project called 'Spider Project 2' on social networks, especially Instagram, after 'identifying' 170 individuals managing modeling pages, a 'judicial case' was formed for 29 individuals, of whom eight were arrested and the rest were summoned. In this context, the website of this center announced on June 12 and 23 that the IRGC had given 'serious warnings' to several photography studios that, according to this center, had 'a significant role in the criminal modeling cycle'. Mostafa Alizadeh, the spokesman for this center, also claimed on May 26 that 'England and some Gulf countries' play a role in the 'modeling cycle' in Iran with 'precise targeting'. A significant group of clerics and military officials in Iran believe that the internet and social networks are tools of 'soft warfare' and 'espionage' by the West against the Islamic Republic and that strict supervision should be applied to this space. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, referred to the 'virtual space' as a 'real battlefield' and stated that 'clergymen and students should be armed and ready to enter the arena to confront doubts and erroneous and deviant thoughts'. On Wednesday, September 3, he also stated in a meeting with members of the government that the virtual space 'can bring great opportunities and at the same time threats'. He announced that the purpose of forming the Supreme Council of Cyberspace is to 'maximize the use of opportunities in the virtual space and eliminate its threats' and called for 'accelerating the establishment and launch of the national information network'. Meanwhile, the first phase of Iran's 'national information network' was inaugurated on Sunday with the presence of Eshaq Jahangiri, the first vice president. The government of Hassan Rouhani claims that the establishment of the national information network is an action to separate the internet used by domestic users from the global web, but critics are concerned that in addition to the low quality of this network, the government will use its control to further restrict the numerous internet users in Iran and limit their access to the global network. In this context, the center affiliated with the IRGC reported the arrest and summoning of managers of 450 pages and channels on social networks, the arrest of 12 individuals by the IRGC on charges of 'promoting cultural corruption', and the IRGC's actions against Kim Kardashian and Iranian veiled women on the red carpet.