In Iran a pro-reform newspaper Ham Mihan is facing potential criminal charges for publishing a cartoon that poked fun at the governments internet restrictions. The cartoon which appeared in the paper roughly a year ago featured the Biblical figure Job asking about the status of internet filtering
The cartoon showed Job speaking to Cabinet spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani. He asks “Excuse me this filtering is not solved?“ (a term Iranians use for internet restrictions). Mohajerinis response: “No be patient a little bit more it will be solved“
Tehrans prosecutors office has filed charges against Ham Mihan‚ as reported by the semi-official Mehr news agency. The exact nature of the punishment remains unclear‚ but in the past some publications have been forced to suspend operations due to disputes with Irans theocracy
This case is one of the first media freedom issues to crop up under President Masoud Pezeshkians administration. Pezeshkian‚ a reformist has promised to:
- Ease police crackdowns on women wearing hijabs
- Improve relations with Western nations
Irans internet restrictions: slow down foreign websites and promote the countrys so-called “halal net“ (a government-controlled internet space). The Ham Mihan case highlights the ongoing tension between reformist promises and the reality of media freedom in Iran
Excuse me‚ this filtering is not solved?
The outcome of this case could set a precedent for how Pezeshkians administration handles media freedom issues going forward