The Iranian government has barred Iranians from accessing the website of the British Ahwazi Friendship Society (BAFS).
The ban, imposed this month, follows a hacking attack last month which closed down the website for 24 hours ( click here for more information ). BAFS has been in discussions with other organisations promoting human rights and democracy in Iran who have faced similar attacks. A Whois trace on one IP involved in hacking attempts was traced to the offices of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs while others were routed via impossible locations such as Somalia, Togo and the Cocos Islands. Some have claimed that Chinese software was used in the hacking attacks.
Iran is notoriously paranoid about Iranians accessing information on the internet and has also clamped down on the country's blogging community.
BAFS Chairman Daniel Brett said: "I am surprised it took them so long to ban the BAFS website in Iran. Being banned by the Iranian government is something of a badge of honour for us. It is a desperate act by a regime that has no legitimacy and no democratic mandate from the people it rules.
"Whether it is censoring the internet, imprisoning children, staging show trials or carrying out disappearances, assassinations and lynchings, every time the regime steps up its repression, the Ahwazi movement strengthens and unifies and support grows. The attacks and now the ban on the BAFS website will only raise its importance.
"We're not particularly bothered by the ban anyway as the purpose of the website is to publicise the Ahwaz issue outside Iran. Nevertheless, it is a shame that the hundreds of Iranians who visit our website every week are no longer able to read what is happening to the Ahwazi Arabs.
"BAFS has consistently stated that it does not support separatism and opposes any invasion of Iran. The government fears the organisation's message of non-violent struggle for Ahwazi Arab rights, because the movement poses one of the greatest domestic challenges the regime has ever faced. It will not tolerate anything that contradicts its own propaganda. It will not tolerate Iranians learning the truth about oppression and injustice in Iran."
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keywords: ahvaz ahwaz ahwazi arabistan khuzestan khuzistan khuzestani arab arabistan iran iranian human rights security oil news ahmadinejad ethnic cleansing
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