The 'Iran Watch' website has been filtered; the site's manager: Filtering is done by 'Abaravan'

Saeed Saif, the manager and owner of the 'Iran Watch' website, announced that this website was 'unexpectedly filtered' on Tuesday afternoon 'without prior notice.' He emphasized that media servers in Iran are under the control of 'Abaravan' and that filtering occurs without a 'judicial order.' 'Iran Watch' is an internet media outlet that started its activities eight years ago. This news and analytical website has previously published reports on corruption in various economic and judicial sectors. On Wednesday, April 12, Saeed Saif announced the filtering of this media on the social network X, stating that 'no entity has taken responsibility for the filtering so far.' He further wrote that 'after the protests of 2021, all news agencies were directly placed under the control of Abaravan' and 'this placement of servers was done without the media's knowledge and based on orders given.' According to Saeed Saif, thus, filtering media occurs 'from there' and without notice, and 'no judicial order is needed.' It is unclear on what basis this media was filtered and due to the publication of what content. Saeed Saif, the manager of this media, had previously been arrested in January 2022 and also in April 2023. According to the report by the 'Committee to Protect Journalists,' the Islamic Republic has pursued at least 91 journalists, media activists, and media outlets judicially and security-wise in the first quarter of 2024, meaning from the second decade of January 2023 to early April of this year. The organization 'Reporters Without Borders' has assessed the Islamic Republic as 'one of the most repressive governments in the world' in terms of media freedom and classified Iran as 177th in terms of freedom of expression among 180 countries. Based on this ranking, only three countries, Vietnam, China, and North Korea, rank lower than Iran. Previously, a journalist residing in Iran told Voice of America that government pressures on media have 'intensified significantly' following the nationwide protests of 2021, and the Islamic Republic's expectation from media is 'to produce propaganda bulletins.' He stated that journalists are pressured due to 'critical analyses' with vague titles like 'blackening' and referred to his 'frequent interrogations,' adding that now writing about optional coverage and internet disruption has also become 'among the red lines for media' and is one of the issues that 'journalists have been pressured about during interrogations.'