The website of Iranian MP Ahmad Tavakoli has been blocked by Islamic Republic authorities.
Tavakoli told ILNA on Monday that he has not been informed of any reason for the blocking of his website, Alef.
Gholmahossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the internet website blocking committee, has reported that Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dowlatabadi ordered the restriction, and Dowlatabadi himself has said he will soon announce the reason.
Tavakoli’s website was also blocked four years ago, after he published an article challenging the validity of the academic degrees of Ali Kordan, who was interior minister at time time.
Iranian authorities exercise heavy censorship on internet content, and Iranian internet users have become accustomed to accessing blocked websites through the use of proxies.
Tavakoli criticized the actions of the filtering committee in February, saying such government practices create discontent among the educated strata and could in turn become “very costly” for the system.
He emphasized that the overt use of website filtering defuses its effectiveness, as the use of proxies becomes an everyday matter for users and it forces regular citizens to engage in an illegal activity by using software that counters the blocking.
