An unnamed individual who had performed admin duties for a Telegram channel has been arrested on charges of “immorality.”

On February 20, Hojatoleslam Noorollah Ghodrati, the head of North Khorasan Justice Bureau, informed the judiciary’s news agency Mizan about the arrest [Persian Link]. The accused lived in the town of Garmeh and was arrested after an investigation into reports that the channel had published obscene pictures and video clips. The name of the accused has not been released.

On February 8, Abdolsamad Khoramabadi, the Deputy Prosecutor-General of Iran, reported that a force of around 18,000 volunteers from the Basij organization regularly monitor the internet and social networks. They then report any infraction that they come across. The Basij organization is an officially sanctioned paramilitary and vigilante volunteer force and a branch of the Revolutionary Guards.

According to Ghodrati, more than 14,000 “obscene” video clips and pictures were posted on the Telegram channel that led to the arrest of the individual. Speaking to Mizan, he said the prosecution had then ordered an investigation into the channel. He said that people linked to sites that target “users’ moral and religious beliefs and the sanctity of the family” would always come under investigation and face potential prosecution. He took the Mizan report as an opportunity to reiterate that Iranian society was centered on the family, and to emphasize the important role the family plays in dissuading individuals to avoid “obscene” products and influences. “After the family,” Ghodrati said, “friends, society and peers have great influence on the individual. Teenagers and adolescents must be supervised so that they can to choose the right path and stay away from such swamps.”

But Ghodrati also called for young people to have greater access to “correct” and up-to-date information, stating that this was an essential part of the fight against “immoral” Telegram channels.