Tehran Prosecutor Reiterates Defense of Telegram Blocking

The Tehran prosecutor defended the judicial order to block the messaging app Telegram, attributing criticisms of the judiciary's involvement to a lack of understanding of the "law." Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi made these remarks in a meeting with several female deputies and judges of the Tehran prosecutor's office, stating that the judiciary acted based on its "duty." His comments came after the judicial order to block the popular messaging app in Iran was issued by Bijan Ghasemzadeh, an investigator in the second branch of the Tehran Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office, on May 10, which sparked significant controversy in Iran. Following the street protests in December 2017, several high-ranking government officials, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and judiciary officials, had verbally attacked foreign messaging apps and social media, including Telegram, labeling them as tools for "foreign infiltration and inciting the public." The expectation of blocking this messaging app, which had also been temporarily filtered during those protests, increased after reports emerged about the Supreme Leader's opposition to lifting the filter again. The blocking of this network and internet restrictions have consistently been one of the main challenges for the government and judiciary since Hassan Rouhani took office in Iran. Mr. Dolatabadi also noted that the volume of opposition and support for the blocking of Telegram in Iran reflects the significance of this event in Iran's "communication landscape." According to this judicial official, based on Article 23 of the Computer Crimes Law, both the working group for determining criminal instances, composed of government officials and chaired by the Attorney General, and the judiciary and its investigators can take action regarding the blocking of virtual networks. The Tehran prosecutor responded to those who believe that a judicial investigator's involvement in this matter is "illegal," stating that "it is recommended to study the mentioned law." This judicial official also reported the formation of "numerous cases and complaints against this messaging app in two areas of the Tehran prosecutor's office, including culture and media and computer crimes," which he stated are "within the duties of the prosecutor's office and the investigator." The Tehran prosecutor, while clearly defending the blocking of the Telegram messaging app in Iran, added that "if the judiciary had taken this action two years ago when Telegram became a platform for numerous crimes, the consequences would have been less; because the users of this foreign messaging app were three million a few years ago." Two days ago, Abdol-Samad Khorram-Abadi, the Secretary of the Committee for Determining Instances of Criminal Content, defended the judiciary's decision to block Telegram, emphasizing that this filtering is "permanent." He stated in a message on the Soroush messaging app, in support of the blocking of this messaging network, that "do not pay attention to rumors that the filtering of Telegram is temporary. The filtering of Telegram is permanent and definitive." Mr. Khorram-Abadi, who is considered the Deputy Attorney General, also accused critics of the recent judicial ruling of "lack of familiarity with procedural regulations." The blocking of this network in Iran has occurred while, according to Hassan Rouhani, there was supposed to be support for similar domestic messaging apps in Iran, rather than monopolizing them. Following this event, seven Iranian and international organizations active in the field of human rights and freedom of information issued a statement asking Hassan Rouhani's government to challenge the judiciary's order to block the Telegram messaging app. These seven organizations have requested the Iranian government to ask the judiciary to annul this ruling and end the widespread violation of freedom of expression in Iran. Although Islamic Republic officials report various statistics regarding the rate of users leaving Telegram and the "increase" in registrations for domestic messaging apps, a survey result from Radio Farda indicated that 90% of Iranian users still use Telegram. However, the Fars news agency, close to the Revolutionary Guard, also defended the judicial order to block Telegram, likening this network to the "golden calf of Samaria." The report from this news agency stated: "Worshiping the golden calf means accepting and believing everything that is broadcast on Telegram and turning away from following the news of truth and reality that comes from officials and official loudspeakers." According to Fars, however, "most of our people have adopted the Moses-like leadership and have not become golden calf worshippers and have never believed the news produced by this golden calf and instead, by participating in the scene and using domestic messaging apps, they produce messages of revolution."