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Iran Filters Outspoken Lawmaker's Website


Conservative Iranian parliamentarian Ali Motahari leaves Interior Ministry building in Tehran after registering as a legislative candidate for Iran's 2012 election.
Conservative Iranian parliamentarian Ali Motahari leaves Interior Ministry building in Tehran after registering as a legislative candidate for Iran's 2012 election.

The website of conservative Iranian lawmaker Ali Motahari has been filtered by Iran's judiciary, according to the hard-line Fars news agency.

The report says no official explanation has been provided for the decision to block Motahari's website, which is also inaccessible from outside the country.

The official IRNA news agency says "unconfirmed reports" suggest the judiciary is behind the filtering.

The move appears to be part of attempts by hard-liners to silence the outspoken Motahari, who has criticized the house arrest of opposition figures Mir Hossein Musavi; Musavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard; and reformist cleric Mehdi Karrubi.

In January, lawmakers disrupted a speech by Motahari during which he blasted the house arrests and said that they violate Iran's constitution.

Motahari's website has been temporarily blocked in the past.

-- Golnaz Esfandiari

About This Blog

Persian Letters is a blog that offers a window into Iranian politics and society. Written primarily by Golnaz Esfandiari, Persian Letters brings you under-reported stories, insight and analysis, as well as guest Iranian bloggers -- from clerics, anarchists, feminists, Basij members, to bus drivers.

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