2021 Elections; 45 Internet and Human Rights Organizations Request Internet Access Guarantee for Citizens
45 civil society organizations defending internet rights and freedoms in Iran and internationally have called on the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic and Iran’s President to respect citizens’ right to internet access during the 2021 presidential election in an open letter.
The letter was also sent to the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the National Security Council, the Taskforce for Determining Criminal Content, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, and the Ministry of Intelligence, among other Islamic Republic institutions.
In the letter, Ali Khamenei and Hassan Rouhani are asked to ensure that during the election period (before, during, and after the vote), citizens will have access to the internet, messaging apps, various social networks, and other communication channels.
The letter states: “In a society like Iran where public spaces are heavily controlled by the authorities and holding gatherings faces government discrimination, the internet, messaging apps, and social networks play an important role in freely expressing opinions and lodging protests, including during elections.”
The letter’s authors have written that “providing the ability to communicate, debate, obtain information, and familiarize oneself with the views of election candidates, alongside reporting violations of individual rights and freedoms, are among the capabilities that virtual communications place at the disposal of Iranian citizens.”
This request comes at a time when in recent weeks several journalists and activists inside Iran have reported that security officials have warned them that criticism of Ebrahim Raisi, the Islamic Republic’s main election candidate, will not be tolerated.
The letter references Iran’s history of internet shutdowns and blocking of social networks and messaging apps, including during the November 2019 protests, and during recent unrest in Sistan and Baluchestan province, as well as the filtering of Signal and Clubhouse messaging apps in Iran.
Other specific requests in the letter from Islamic Republic authorities include: stopping the blocking of social networks, messaging apps and various websites, halting the prevention of citizens from using VPNs to access these networks, providing quality and secure access for all citizens during the election period, and ordering all internet companies to inform the public about any potential disruptions.
The letter has been signed by organizations including the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation, the Siamak Pourzand Foundation, Article 19, the Center for Human Rights in Iran, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Activists in Iran, and Union for Iran.
Iran’s government has routinely shut down the internet during recent protests, which in some events like the November 2019 protests resulted in internet shutdowns lasting several days.
During the November 2019 protests, internet was also cut off in Sistan and Baluchestan, and according to these human rights organizations, “during that period, with the continuation of protests in Sistan and Baluchestan, this province was among the last areas to have internet restored.”
In early March 2021, Amnesty International along with three human rights groups—Article 19, Access Now, and Midян Group—stated in a joint statement referring to the Zahedan protests and “the near-total internet blackout in Sistan and Baluchestan province” that this action was being taken to “conceal the commission of serious human rights violations and international crimes such as extrajudicial killings.”
Source: Radio Farda
