Iran News: News Website “Didehban Iran” Blocked, Tehran Prosecutes Media Activists Over Reporting Nika Shakarami’s Murder
Written by
Mohammad Sadat Khansari
Saeed Saif, the managing editor and licensee of the state-run website “Didehban Iran,” announced that the news outlet had been “blocked without prior notice” since April 30.
Saif took to his social media platform to express his astonishment at the abrupt censorship of the “Didehban Iran” website. He defended his own work but lamented the lack of accountability regarding the website’s sudden blockage.
Responding to a user query about the circumstances surrounding the blocking of “Didehban Iran,” Saif also mentioned that after the nationwide protests in 2022, all news agencies were placed directly under the control of “Abr Arvan,” a state-owned cloud computing company.
He alleged that this transfer of control was executed without any prior notification, and website blockages are now facilitated through Abr Arvan, without the need for judicial orders.
Abr Arvan was sanctioned by the United States in June of last year due to its involvement in internet restrictions in Iran. However, the European Union lifted these sanctions in April.
#Iran News:
Regime’s New Regulations Intensify #Censorship of Foreign Media inside Iranhttps://t.co/mQoleP86n8— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 30, 2024
In a separate development, the Tehran Prosecutor’s Office announced on Thursday, May 1, the indictment of “media activists” for publishing reports on the murder of Nika Shakarami. The individuals have been summoned to court.
BBC World Service reported on Monday, April 29, citing a “highly confidential” report from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that Nika Shakarami, a 16-year-old protester who was sexually assaulted by government agents during the 2022 nationwide protests, was killed by state agents.
According to the BBC report, Nika Shakarami was sexually assaulted by three agents of the clerical regime named Arash Kalhor, Sadegh Monjazy, and Behrooz Sadeghy and subsequently murdered.
NCRI Calls for International Investigation of #NikaShakarami’s Sexual Assault and Murder by IRGC inside #Iranhttps://t.co/Ry4Wxj5cyx
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 30, 2024
The report has faced significant backlash and garnered extensive international media coverage. Mizan News Agency, affiliated with the regime’s judiciary, claimed that the BBC’s report was “fabricated, incorrect, and full of mistakes” and asserted, without presenting any evidence, that “a thorough judicial investigation into this case had previously been conducted, and the results of the investigations had officially been announced in the media.”
In a statement issued on April 30, the Women’s Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran strongly condemned this atrocious and inhuman crime and called for international investigations into the case, and the expedited terrorist designation of the clerical regime’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).