Iranian Cyber Police

In 2009, Iran's Police Chief Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam announced plans to set up a cyber police division to counter "internet crimes".{{cite news|url=http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8911031262 |agency=Fars News Agency |date=23 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019124334/http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8911031262 |archive-date=19 October 2012|title= Iranian Police Sets Up Cyber Force}}

On January 23, 2011, Iran's Cyber Police (FATA) unit was launched with Brigadier General Kamal Hadianfar as the head of the new force. At the inaugural ceremony, Police Chief Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam said the unit was now operational in Tehran and that by the end of the Iranian year, police stations throughout the country would have their cyber units.{{cite news |title=Iran announces launch of new cyber police units |url=http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2011/01/23/iran_announces_launch_of_new_cyber_police_units/ |agency=Associated Press |date=23 January 2011 |access-date=21 December 2012 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305002214/http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2011/01/23/iran_announces_launch_of_new_cyber_police_units/ |url-status=live }} According to Agence France-Presse, Ahmadi-Moqaddam said: "The cyber police would take on anti-revolutionary and dissident groups who used Internet-based social networks in 2009 to trigger protests against the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad."{{cite news |title=Iran launches cyber crime unit: police |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hLEy7ykxpOx8VTVkl1-v0zSeaIMw |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=23 January 2011 |access-date=11 November 2016 |archive-date=27 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110127143546/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hLEy7ykxpOx8VTVkl1-v0zSeaIMw |url-status=dead }}

In January 2012, the cyber police issued new guidelines for Internet cafés, requiring users to provide personal information that would be kept by café owners for six months, and a record of the websites they visited. The rules also require café owners to install closed-circuit television cameras and maintain the recordings for six months. The cyber police stated the measures are being implemented because "citizens are concerned about information theft." According to Golnaz Esfandiari of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, however, the new rules "will also create a logbook that authorities can use to track down activists or whoever is deemed a threat to national security."{{cite news |title=Iran Announces New Restrictions For Internet Cafes |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_announces_new_internet_restrictions/24442396.html |agency=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=4 January 2012 |access-date=24 December 2012 |archive-date=7 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307045012/http://www.rferl.org/content/iran_announces_new_internet_restrictions/24442396.html |url-status=live }}{{cite news |title=Iran Mounts New Web Crackdown |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203513604577142713916386248 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=6 January 2012 |access-date=8 August 2017 |archive-date=21 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171121091703/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203513604577142713916386248 |url-status=live }}

The same month, the cyber police arrested four administrators of a Facebook group that had launched an online beauty competition. The cyber police chief announced the group had been "destroyed" for spreading corruption and immorality.{{cite news |title=Iran's Cyberpolice Detain Facebook-Group Administrators |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/irans_cyber_police_detain_facebook_group_administrators/24468239.html |agency=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=30 January 2012 |access-date=24 December 2012 |archive-date=8 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108144031/http://www.rferl.org/content/irans_cyber_police_detain_facebook_group_administrators/24468239.html |url-status=live }}

In June 2012, Iranian media reported that the cyber police would launch a crackdown on virtual private networks (VPNs), which many Iranians use to circumvent the government's Internet censorship.{{cite news |title=Iran to crack down on web censor-beating software |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jIFi-LdqBsdtrj7mRYnCMTlSGjCA?docId=CNG.f710ad6e0ee1dc52f64c985918d1bac1.741 |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=10 June 2012 |access-date=11 November 2016 |archive-date=21 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221124405/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jIFi-LdqBsdtrj7mRYnCMTlSGjCA?docId=CNG.f710ad6e0ee1dc52f64c985918d1bac1.741 |url-status=dead }}

On the internet websites they monitor for Iranians and businesses that are running illegally including gymclubs, body sculpting plastic surgery and modeling they also call and indict users.{{Cite web |date=2023-05-14 |title=هشدار پلیس فتا به مزون‌ها، مدلینگ، سالن‌های زیبایی، پیکر تراشی و باشگاه‌های ورزشی {{!}} اخطار به صفحات و کانال های دارای محتوای نامتعارف |url=https://www.hamshahrionline.ir/news/760452/%D9%87%D8%B4%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%BE%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%B3-%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%B2%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%87%D8%A7-%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%86%DA%AF-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%A8%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D9%BE%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B4%DB%8C |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=همشهری آنلاین |language=fa |archive-date=2023-05-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230518235921/https://www.hamshahrionline.ir/news/760452/%D9%87%D8%B4%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D9%BE%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%B3-%D9%81%D8%AA%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%85%D8%B2%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%87%D8%A7-%D9%85%D8%AF%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%86%DA%AF-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%B2%DB%8C%D8%A8%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D9%BE%DB%8C%DA%A9%D8%B1-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B4%DB%8C |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |url=https://www.irna.ir/news/85096216/%DB%B2%DB%B0%DB%B0-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%86%D9%85%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%B1%D9%85-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%81%D8%B6%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B2%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D8%AF |access-date=2023-05-20 |website=www.irna.ir |title=Archived copy |archive-date=2023-05-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230510040607/https://www.irna.ir/news/85096216/%DB%B2%DB%B0%DB%B0-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%86%D9%85%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%B1%D9%85-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%81%D8%B6%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D9%85%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B2%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D8%AF |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |work=Gerdab |date=2023-05-15 |title=جزئیاتی از طرح «پاکسازی فضای مجازی» پلیس فتا |url=http://gerdab.ir/fa/news/35659 |access-date=2023-05-20 |language=fa}}

On October 30, 2012, the cyber police arrested 35-year-old Sattar Beheshti for "actions against national security on social networks and Facebook." Beheshti had criticized the Iranian government in his blog.{{cite web |url=http://en.rsf.org/iran-jailed-netizen-sattar-beheshti-08-11-2012,43659.html |title=Jailed netizen Sattar Beheshti dies after prison interrogation |date=8 November 2012 |publisher=Reporters Without Borders |access-date=21 December 2012 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304060116/http://en.rsf.org/iran-jailed-netizen-sattar-beheshti-08-11-2012,43659.html |url-status=dead }} Beheshti was found dead in his prison cell on November 3, and was believed to have been tortured to death by the cyber police authorities.{{cite news |title=Iran MP blames cyber police for blogger's death |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hQIydlnb790FFK2N0dlsbGLUrhMQ?docId=CNG.d1c3331ce6b077cb9584c9a4521f1f20.a11 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130124182652/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hQIydlnb790FFK2N0dlsbGLUrhMQ?docId=CNG.d1c3331ce6b077cb9584c9a4521f1f20.a11 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 24, 2013 |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=26 November 2012 }}

The death of Beheshti sparked international condemnation and "generated a rare torrent of criticism from officials" in Iran. Iranian parliament member Mehdi Davatgari charged that the cyber police had held Beheshti illegally overnight without a court order and called for the "resignation or dismissal of the cyber police chief."{{cite news |title=Iran blogger's death in prison sets off blame game |url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-blogger-death-20121129,0,719791,full.story |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127145039/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-blogger-death-20121129,0,719791,full.story |url-status=dead |archive-date=27 January 2013 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=28 November 2012 }} On December 1, 2012, the chief of Tehran's cyber police unit, Mohammad Hassan Shokrian, was dismissed over the death of Beheshti for "failures and weaknesses in adequately supervising personnel under his supervision."{{cite news |title=Iran fires cyber police chief over blogger's death |url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-blogger-idUKBRE8B008N20121201 |work=Reuters |date=1 December 2012 }}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

{{reflist}}

• {{Official website|http://www.cyber.police.ir/}} (Persian)
• {{Official website|http://www.cyber.police.ir/}} (English)

{{Iran Military}}

Category:2011 establishments in Iran

Category:Law Enforcement Command of Islamic Republic of Iran

Category:Specialist law enforcement agencies of Iran

Category:Censorship in Iran

Category:Internet in Iran

Category:Cyberwarfare in Iran