Government filtering makes two websites inaccessible

Reporters Without Borders today criticised the Iranian government for blocking access to two independent websites on 7 November, www.tik.ir and meydaan.com. No official reason was given but the tik.ir website reportedly said the orders to filter Entekhab came from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's office. Iran is on the Reporters Without Borders list of 13 Internet enemies. “These measures suggest the Iranian authorities are taking a harder ideological line in their desire to control the Internet,” the press freedom organisation said. “Online surveillance and censorship is constantly been stepped up for Iranian bloggers. The 4,420 votes against Iran during our 24-hour protest against online censorship are evidence of the worrying situation for the Internet in this country.” tik.ir has published several articles in recent weeks criticising the Ahmadinejad clan and its spiritual guide, Ayatollah Mesbah. This site was previously filtered on 18 January after referred to the president's attempt to imposed Mesbah as Ali Khamenei's successor. The filtering comes at a time of continuing rivalry between factions within the conservative camp. The other site, meydaan.com, which was created three months ago, has been targeted by the Iranian government for publishing articles calling for an end to the stoning of women. ------------- Create your blog with Reporters without borders: www.rsfblog.org