Baku, Azerbaijan, March 17
By Emil Ilgar - Trend:
Iranian security forces recently arrested the administrators of some Telegram social media app channels, which have to do with upcoming presidential elections, said Hesameddin Ashna, advisor to President Hassan Rouhani.
The country’s security organizations launched some Telegram channels and then arrested some people on charges of having connections with those channels, Ashna said in a tweet March 17.
The presidential, city council, and mid-term parliament elections of Iran are set for May 19. The moderate Rouhani is set run for a second term as president. Most security organizations, governed by conservative ultra-governmental elites, are against Rouhani.
The president’s adviser in his tweet accused the security bodies of using the New Year holiday as the best moment to crack down on their opponents.
Reports say that IRGC recently arrested 12 pro-reform and pro-Rouhani social activists - the administrators of some Telegram channels.
The mentioned channels are: Reform News, Rouhani Fans, Reform Society, Khatami Fans (translated).
The arrests have drawn criticism from MPs Ali Motahari, Mahmoud Sadeqi, and Mohammad Ali Vakili, condemning them as “election engineering”.
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