Attorney General's Strong Criticism of the Ministry of Culture: 'Death to the Freedom' of Internet Users

The Attorney General of Iran criticized the performance of the working group determining criminal instances and the Ministry of Culture, urging responsible officials in online activities to set aside 'political games and demagogic words.' According to this official, internet freedom is no different from captivity. Reported by the 'Mizan' news agency, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, the Attorney General of the country, stated on Tuesday, December 7, that he is dissatisfied with the actions of the members of the working group in dealing with 'anti-religion networks' on the internet. Mr. Montazeri added that he does not give a 'good grade' to the performance of the Ministry of Culture in this regard, and some members of this working group also receive a 'zero.' This judicial official urged members of the working group to cooperate with the Cyber Police ('FATA') to combat the 'polluted space' in social networks. The Attorney General also stated that the judiciary is motivated to address 'disorders' and hopes that other responsible institutions can take 'more serious' actions in this regard through coordination and communication. He considered the 'polluted space' and the activities of 'anti-religion networks' as signs of the 'shortcomings of responsible agencies' and urged the heads of these agencies to stop 'political games and demagogic words.' Mr. Montazeri did not clarify what he meant by 'demagoguery,' but in response to the freedom of action of Iranian users on social networks, he said: 'Death to this freedom that leads everything to destruction; this is not freedom but the ultimate captivity.' Despite numerous restrictions and filtering, social networks have become one of the main communication tools and open spaces for various activities of the people in Iran, and the scope of using these facilities is increasing day by day. Two days ago, Mohammad Ali Mohammadi Kermani, the temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran, also criticized this issue, stating that the virtual space could 'uproot religion and Islam' and is 'a hundred times worse than immodesty.' Mohammadi Kermani criticized the prevalence of 'phone sex and internet sex' in Persian-language social networks, adding that currently 'millions of websites are promoting corruption, prostitution, and obscene films and photos.' The temporary Friday prayer leader of Tehran also claimed that 'the internet encourages suicide, provides easy solutions for suicide, various sexual corruptions, creates doubts, invites to indifference, aids rebellion, and sells weapons.' Before him, the Iranian Minister of Interior had also criticized the 'anarchy' in the online space and requested the judiciary to address such behaviors in the internet space. According to responsible officials, currently, 85% of Iranians have access to mobile internet, and there are 46 million internet users in Iran, of which 29 million are young. Kamal Hadianfar, the head of the Cyber Police, announced these statistics, adding that 'the threats of the virtual space are significant' and that in this space 'creating crises and dissatisfaction aims to reduce and eliminate public trust in officials.' The Supreme Council of Cyberspace in Iran has also approved that information channels in these networks with more than five thousand members must be authenticated and obtain permits from responsible agencies. Internet and press censorship in Iran has always been criticized by the United Nations and human rights organizations, with Reporters Without Borders accusing the Islamic Republic of 'suppressing freedom of information.' In this context, China, Iran, and Syria topped the 'list of restrictors of internet freedoms' in 2016. The fastest mobile internet in the world is in Singapore; Iran ranks seventy-first. The use of mobile internet in Iran has 'doubled.' Social media channels with more than 5,000 members 'must obtain permits.'