Via Ars Technica -
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s own words have now become a victim of Iran’s massive online censorship infrastructure.
According to Radio Free Europe (RFE), last week Khamenei issued a “fatwa,” or religious edict, confirming that anti-filtering tools and software are illegal in Iran. The decree came in response to a question by Mehr News (Google Translate), a semi-official news agency, which had asked for clarification on the ruling due to the fact that, as journalists, employees sometimes need to access blocked websites and other non-authorized information.
Khamenei, according to a translation by RFE, replied: "In general, the use of antifiltering software is subject to the laws and regulations of the Islamic republic, and it is not permissible to violate the law."
However, his own use of the word “antifiltering” apparently triggered Iran’s own filtering system, making Khamenei’s words inaccessible to most Iranians.
RFE also reported that this filtering episode prompted Tabnak, a conservative news website, to respond: "The filtering of a [religious] order is so ugly for the executive [branch] that it can bring into question the whole philosophy of filtering."
Iran, of course, has a notorious surveillance and filtration system in place—just last month, the Islamic Republic published a "Request for Information" for furthering its so-called "halal Internet."
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