The Release of Images of a Young Man with Several Girls on 'Telegram' Led to His Arrest

The Iranian judiciary arrested a young man for publishing 28 photos of himself alongside 14 young girls on the mobile social network 'Telegram'. The news agency 'Tasnim' reported on Wednesday (November 18) that this 30-year-old man had 'taken inappropriate images with a large number of girls in various locations in Tehran', which led to his arrest after their publication. The judiciary's involvement in this case occurred when the widespread sharing of these images on 'Telegram' became the subject of jokes among some users about this young man and the cyber police, prompting him to release a video in response. The young man, identified as 'Vahid' and residing in 'Saadat Abad', stated in this video that the girls seen in the images are his 'relatives' and that the publication of these images has caused him problems. In the video, he asks users to refrain from sharing his images and to stop the jokes about it. After his arrest, he told 'Tasnim' that 'the release of the video in which I said the cyber police is aware of everything was the biggest mistake of my life.' He added, 'I never thought the issue would escalate to this point; I wish I had never published that video.' In response to claims that he is a wealthy Tehranian with a Maserati, he stated, 'I am a worker; a simple worker; I swear I have neither a house nor a car; let alone a Maserati; I swear I am a tenant.' He further mentioned that the published images were from three to four years ago and that after losing his mobile phone, these images were shared online, and he played no role in their dissemination. In this interview, 'Vahid' apologized to those whose images were shared on 'Telegram' and sought their 'forgiveness'. Mohammad Mehdi Kakavand, head of Tehran's cyber police, also informed 'Fars' news agency about the 'interrogation' of this young man, stating that 'the accused has exploited the individuals depicted in these photos.' Kakavand added, 'The accused did not report the theft of his phone to any law enforcement agency,' to which 'Vahid' explained, 'I did not report the loss of my phone to the cyber police. Honestly, I was scared.' The cyber police (Cyber Production and Exchange Information Police of the Islamic Republic) is responsible for addressing cyber crimes, and from time to time, news emerges regarding the arrest of social media and cyberspace activists by this police force. In addition to the cyber police, the Intelligence Organization of the IRGC has also carried out several arrests related to cyber crimes, the latest of which involved the arrest of several Telegram groups in Qazvin province. 'Employing a special employee for Iran' in Telegram for censorship According to the government news agency, Mahmoud Vaezi, Iran's Minister of Communications, stated on Wednesday, November 18, that his ministry has corresponded with the managers of the Telegram network and announced that sections deemed 'immoral and obscene' should be filtered in this network for Iran. He added that 'they also filtered the obscene sections in response to the correspondence. Vaezi continued, 'The managers of the Telegram network announced that a special employee for Iran has been hired in this network to prevent the dissemination of inappropriate and unethical topics.' He commented on the future of this network, saying, 'I don't think this network will be filtered.' In this context, the arrest of 100 hackers and the blocking of 20 Telegram channels by law enforcement is ongoing, as 'blocking Telegram remains on the agenda.'