Celebrities face a new threat
According to Iran Gate, celebrities are now the new target of the ban on expression. This prohibition is a new phenomenon aimed at suppressing and censoring more by the Iranian political system, in an attempt to control the volatile social atmosphere.
Now, four months after the start of nationwide protests in Iran, members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly are working on a plan that would impose imprisonment and financial penalties on celebrities who disseminate unofficial news. According to the Etemad newspaper, the Judiciary Commission of the Parliament intends to add a provision to Article 512 of the Islamic Penal Code.
If approved, famous and highly influential individuals on social networks who publish news that official authorities have not yet expressed their views on will be sentenced to 10 to 15 years in prison and fined 36 to 55 million tomans.
According to Article 512 of the Islamic Penal Code, anyone who seduces or incites people to engage in war and massacre against each other with the intention of disrupting the country’s security will be sentenced to one to five years in prison.
According to Article 512, which the Islamic Consultative Assembly is trying to incorporate into the Fifth Book of the Islamic Penal Code, any person who holds a social, political, familial, educational, cultural, or military position in society, whether in real or virtual space, and expresses false statements about matters that require official opinions and have not yet been officially announced, will be punished with imprisonment and a fine, unless it falls under the category of corruption on earth.
Mr. Ghazanfarabadi, the head of the Judiciary Commission of the Parliament, has stated that Article 512 is under review and has not yet reached a final conclusion.
Mr. Ghazanfarabadi cited the case of the death of Mahsa Amini, who was allegedly beaten by the Basij forces, as an example and stated that individuals who express opinions or analyze based on lies and rumors will be subject to the new law.
More than four months after the widespread protests that started with the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Basij forces, the official authorities of the Islamic Republic have insisted throughout this period that the protesting people have been incited by real and legal individuals, including celebrities and foreign media outlets.
In the midst of protests in mid-November, 227 representatives of the current parliament demanded the execution of the protesters. The news of drafting a new plan has faced reactions from social media users, and many of them, along with experts, have called this action illegal and aimed at restricting freedom of speech in society.
In this regard, Rasoul Khadem, the former head of the Iranian Wrestling Federation, also wrote in a post on his Instagram account on Saturday, February 8th, that no one should speak about the issues of the people and society before the authorities express their opinions. It is the utmost dishonesty and betrayal to the people who have lost their lives and say, ‘Stay silent until the authorities report as they want, and of course, maybe they don’t even know what to say.’
He continued by referring to the representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly as a group who prefer to listen to the orders of higher authorities instead of hearing the voice of the people. Following the nationwide protests in Iran after the killing of Mahsa Amini, a significant number of well-known figures including artists and athletes reacted to the ongoing events and showed their support for the people. In response to this widespread wave, some of them were also summoned for interrogation, threatened, and prohibited from leaving the country.
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