By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

TEHRAN, Iran – Mobile phone users and television viewers in Iran were notified on Sunday that their access to Google and Gmail would be censored for the foreseeable future.

Iranian officials have claimed that the block on the search engine, Google, and its e-mail service, Gmail, is in response to the anti-Muhammad film that has recently enraged Muslims across the Middle East. Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, a representative of Iran’s state run agency in charge of online censorship and computer crimes, states that many Iranians urged the agency to block the sites because they contain links to the film.

Many do not believe that the film had anything to do with the governments filtering measures. A popular sentiment expressed is that many in Iran are not as upset about the anti-Muhammad film as other neighboring countries, and that the government is using the film as propaganda. To those people, the true motive behind the recent actions instead has to do with Iran’s government’s urge to create a national intranet, separate from the worldwide internet.

“This is a pre-determined scenario to block Google in Iran, they wanted to do this since long time ago,” tweeted Hadi Khezriyan.

These restrictions are not the first that this Iranian regime has implemented. Google and Gmail were both blocked last February, just prior to parliamentary elections. YouTube has been blocked since mid-2009, after people used the tool to contest the validity of President Ahmadinejad’s re-election. Other sites routinely blocked and censored are the Guardian, BBC, CNN, Facebook, and Twitter. There are few countries that are censored more often than Iran.

Last year, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei set up the Supreme Council of Virtual Space to watch over the country’s internet. Since then, the group has been planning to create a national intranet. Experts believe that Iran is doing this to protect sensitive information like military and banking records from an outside cyber-attack. Others feel that Iran just wants to control the outside information that is coming into the country and pull out of the worldwide web all together.

Ali Hakim-Javadi, the country’s deputy communications and technology minister, said that, “[i]n recent days, all governmental agencies and offices have been connected to the national information network.” The fear is that the next step will be getting all the regular citizens onto the national intranet.

Many Iranians have taken to social networking sites to complain about the recent ban. Golnaz Esfandiari, who writes a blog for Persian Letters, a website run by Radio Free Europe, wrote, “By blocking Gmail/Google, #Iran government punishes its own people over anti-Islam movie.  Most Iranians have not seen it/don’t care.”

For some, anger about the prohibition is more a matter of principle than practicality. Iranians can still access Gmail by using virtual private networks (VPNs). Many already use these VPNs to gain access to blocked Western sites, despite government restrictions.

“[E]very schoolchild knows how to bypass restrictions by using VPNs, it’s very common in Iran,” said Mahmood Tajali Mehr, an Iranian telecommunications consultant.

For further information, please see:

Al Jazeera – Iran Blocks Access to Google and Gmail – 24 September 2012

BBC – Google Search and Gmail Censored in Iran – 24 September 2012

Guardian – Iran set to Block Access to Google – 23 September 2012

BBC – Iran’s Supreme Leader Sets up Body to Oversee Internet – 7 March 2012

By Ali Al-Bassam
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

CAIRO, Egypt — Fourteen reportedly militant Islamists’ death sentences were upheld by the Supreme State of Emergency Court on Monday for their part in a deadly attack on a bank and police station. The strike killed an army officer, five policemen, and a civilian in the North Sinai town of Arish last year.  The jihadists were originally sentenced to death on August 14 by a court in Ismailiya, northeast of Cairo. Four men received life sentences for their parts in the attack, while six were acquitted.

Those who were sentenced belonged to the “Tawhid wal Jihad” (Monotheism and Holy War) organization.  The group was accused of killing 34 people in a series of bombings that were carried out  against tourist resorts in South Sinai in 2004 and 2005.  Ever since the Mubarak era, North Sinai villages have dealt with many issues involving Islamic jihadists who seek an Emirate in Sinai.  After its founders were killed by police following the attack, the group kept a low profile, but experienced a resurgence after President Mubarak was overthrown.

Mohamed Zare’ a human rights lawyer who is also the head of the Arab Organization for Penal Reform, described the ruling as “deterrent, especially because of what is being carried out in Sinai.  It also is proof of fears the country has of Jihadists.”  Zare’ believes that the ruling is proof of the executive and judicial bodies’ awareness of the issues that Sinai currently faces.

Nageh Ibrahim, former fighter who is now an Islamist researcher, agreed with Zare’.  In an interview with Al Jazeera, he said that “[t]his court decision is a milestone.  It gives a strong message to the militant groups that the state, President Mohamed Morsi’s government, will not tolerate attacks on the Egyptian armed forces and police.”

Tarek Abdel-A’al, head of field work for the Egyptian Initiative for Human Rights, disagrees, finding the sentence to be “very harsh,” especially considering the modern trend many countries are following in abandoning the death penalty.

Those convicted blame President Mohamed Morsi for the court’s decision.  After the verdict, one defendant was heard shouting that “Morsi is an infidel and those who follow him are infidels.”

Al Jazeera reported that the Egyptian government and Israel are currently coordinating on a security operation which involves hundreds of Egyptian troops with tanks, armored vehicles and helicopters in a joint operation with police to raid militant hideouts, arrest suspects, and seize weapons.  Yet there is still little information over whether this will be enough to bring Sinai back under government control.

For further information please see:

Al Bawaba — Egypt: Six Islamists to be Executed — 24 September 2012

Al Jazeera — Egypt Upholds Death Penalty in Sinai Attacks — 24 September 2012

Daily News Egypt — Over a Dozen Sentenced to Death for Deadly Attack in North Sinai — 24 September 2012

Egypt Independent — Egypt Condemns 14 to Death for 2011 Sinai Attack — 24 September 2012