Iran forms cyberpolice to confront "modern crimes"

Jan 14, 2011, 8:30 GMT

Tehran - Iran has formed a cyberpolice unit to confront what it calls 'modern crimes,' which include online activities by political opposition groups, the ISNA news agency reported Friday.

ISNA quoted Iran's deputy police chief, Ahmad-Reza Radan, as saying that 'as traditional crimes have become modernized, there is the need for forming modern units for confronting such crimes as well.'

He also said that 'as in the political riots in 2009, the rioters availed themselves of the web, there is also the necessity to confront these offenders and prevent any misuse.'

Radan was referring to protests following the 2009 presidential election, which was overshadowed by allegations of fraud and eventually led to the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The web and especially social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter were at that time used by opposition leaders, dissidents and protestors inside and outside Iran for coordinating the protests and exchanging information.

The internet in Iran is restricted with various websites filtered, including the popular Facebook and Twitter sites, either for political or for ethical reasons.

Many users, however, break the filters with software, most of which is produced in China.

The Iranian police also plan to battle information leaks by the whistleblower website WikiLeaks, which have included US diplomatic cables about Iran, such as Saudi Arabia and Bahrain urging the United States to halt Iran's nuclear programme by any means, including a military attack.

The cables also included information by an unnamed Iranian source that Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has incurable cancer.

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