Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Iran blocks candidates' Facebook pages

|
|
 
  
Published: May 24, 2009 at 5:25 PM

TEHRAN, May 24 (UPI) -- Officials in Iran have blocked access to Facebook in what opposition candidates said was an effort to thwart their challenges to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The Washington Post reported Sunday that Ahmadinejad's three political opponents have used the Internet site to spread their campaign messages.

Iranian Shiite cleric Mohammad Ali Abtahi said when he wanted to check the latest election discussions on Facebook, he found that the site had been blocked.

"The government wants to prevent all free discussions on the elections," said Abtahi, a former vice president and adviser to Mehdi Karroubi, one of the challengers.

Abtahi said he had more than 3,000 friends on the site.

"Those people used the site to discuss freely, something which unfortunately is not possible in our national media," he said.

The Iranian Labor News Agency, a news organization with ties to the government, reported the Masadiq Committee, made up of intelligence officials and others, ordered at least one of the candidates' sites to be blocked.

Recommended Stories
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
The Tibetan Moniam Festival in China Super Bowl XLVI ticker tape victory parade Proposition 8 ruled unconstitutional in California
AARP Movies for Grownups Award Gala The Most Desirable Women of 2012 Snowy Owls make appearance in Washington
Additional Top News Stories
1 of 15
Rose McGowan at The Heart Truth's Red Dress Fall 2012 Collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week In New York
View Caption
fark
The toughest place to be a train driver
"Can a man be 'slut-shamed?'" Well...yeah
Problem: You have a city full of people who have no ability whatsoever to parallel park. Solution:...
38KKK air bags keep woman safe in car crash
NJ DOT committee presents recommendations on ways to reduce train-related deaths. #1: Stop getting...
Another amenity your car is missing: A wood burning stove. Talk to this guy about getting that set...