15 Mar 12 | Index Index, minipost
An Egyptian university banned the screening of an award winning Iranian film last week. The film A Separation”was due to be screened at Cairo University on 8 March, but objections from fundamentalist university groups led to the screening permit to be revoked. The film, which has won several international awards, tackles issues relating to immigration. The fundamentalist groups who objected to the screening of the film claimed it promoted Shiasm, secularism, and al-Assad’s regime at the expense of Syria, though these are not said to be themes of the film.
09 Mar 12 | Digital Freedom, Index Index, minipost
Iran’s Supreme leader has ordered the creation of an “internet oversight agency” to control the web. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordered the creation of the “Supreme Council of Cyberspace” which aims to prevent harm to Iranians who go online. Dangers expected to be tackled by the Council include computer viruses created by Iran’s rivals aimed at sabotaging its industry, and a “culture invasion” which would undermine the Islamic Republic. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad will head the cyberspace council, along with powerful security figures.
15 Feb 12 | Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Iranian blogger Mehdi Khazali’s wife and daughter have allegedly been kidnapped by security forces and moved to an unknown location, it was reported yesterday. Khazali, a staunch critic of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Iran’s state policies, was sentenced to 13 years and 10 months in prison and 10 years in exile on 7 February for “insulting the supreme leader”. The blogger has been on hunger strike for 38 days.
13 Feb 12 | Digital Freedom, Index Index, Middle East and North Africa, minipost
Internet censorship has dramatically increased in Iran over the last week. On 7 February, internet users in Iran began reporting an increase in the blocking and filtering of certain kinds of internet traffic in the country. Many users complained of not being able to access HTTPS websites, the secure and encrypted version of HTTP protocol. Many banks, Google services, Twitter, Facebook, and Microsoft Hotmail use HTTPS to protect private data. Though there have been no official announcements regarding the changes, it is widely believed to be the first step towards a Halal internet.
