18 Feb 11 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
In a bid to stifle anti-government protests, the Iranian government has intensified its censorship, especially of online media, and arrested journalists covering demonstrations. Opposition websites and independent news websites have come under cyber-attacks limiting their functionality. Bloggers and journalists reporting on the protests continue to be arrested, and security forces have also reportedly beaten relatives of detained protestors.
16 Feb 11 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Two deaths have been reported in anti-government demonstrations in Tehran. The deaths came as anti-government protesters clashed with police and pro-government supporters. It is not clear which camp the dead demonstrators belonged to, with both the anti and pro-government supporters claiming them as their own. Several demonstrators were also wounded in the clashes. The government has banned all opposition rallies, and detained major opposition leaders and hundreds of activists in order to deter the protests.
11 Feb 11 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Iran has jammed the BBC’s Persian Television service following its coverage of political unrest in Egypt. The electronic signal jamming satellites carrying the BBC signal has been traced back to Iran. BBC Persia has being carrying extensive rolling coverage of the Egyptian protests. The channel has suffered from intermittent attempts to interfer with it signal ever since its 2009 launch.
09 Feb 11 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost, News and features
Iranian journalist Siamak Qaderi was sentenced to four years in prison and 60 lashes on 21 January. Qaderi, a blogger, was charged disseminating of false information liable to disrupt public order and publishing anti-government propaganda. Last year he was fired from the government news agency IRNA for interviewing gay Iranians and posting the interviews on his blog. Qaderi has been in detention since July 2010, his arrest was linked to eyewitness accounts he published of the opposition protests of the Green Movement.
