Iran’s Security Force arrested social media admins and online activists publishing Iran protest news in the cities of Mahabad, Malard and Baneh.
On Saturday, December 30, the Mahabad Intelligence Agency gave a notice to the manager of Agance Mukerian Website, Khosrow Kordpour, in a telephone call telling him that he should not cover news of the gatherings in various Iranian cities and that the gatherings were illegal and publishing Iran protest news was banned.
According to other reports, intelligence agencies in the towns of Urmia, Kermanshah and Ilam sent text messages to citizens threatening them not to participate in the protest gatherings. Furthermore, the Ministry of Intelligence, the Revolutionary Guards Corps and the State Security Forces Intelligence Department have posted messages on social media asking citizens to give them the names of and information on protesters.
The Malard Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor announced the arrest of a social media administrator in this town in Tehran Province. Javad Jebleh stressed on January 3, 2018, that those who spread rumors in cyberspace would be seriously dealt with, according to the state-run Farda website.
On Wednesday, January 3, Shoja Hussainzadeh, the administrator of the Baneh News Telegram channel was arrested on charges of publishing lies. The Kurd citizen is currently detained in the Baneh Intelligence Detention Center.
