Vienna - An international media watchdog on Tuesday
condemned Iran's closure of internet cafes in Tehran and the
continued detention of two cyber-dissidents.
Iran's authorities on December 16 closed down 24 internet cafes in
the capital and arrested 23 people, eleven of them women for 'immoral
behaviour,' Reporters Without Borders, a press freedom organization
said. Tehran police had warned 170 internet cafes the day before that
they were risking being closed.
'This is further evidence of an even more radical government line
on free expression, especially when women are involved,' Reporters
Without Borders said, adding that the grounds for the women's arrests
were 'extremely vague.'
'They did nothing to threaten public morality. We firmly condemn
this attack on freedoms, and we call for the release of all 23
detainees and the reopening of the internet cafes.'
Meanwhile, Maryam Hosseinkah, 32, and Jelveh Javaheri, 30, two
female internet dissidents are still in custody since their arrests
in mid-November and early December.
The two women were charged with publishing false information,
disturbing public opinion and publicity against the Islamic Republic,
the media watchdog said. Bail of up to 95,000 euros (137,000 dollars)
was set for their release.
Iran is one of the countries with the strictest censorship and
online filtering rules worldwide, requiring all websites offering
news about Iran to register with the culture ministry, Reporters
without Borders said.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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