Iran accused of blocking BBC Website

January 25, 2006

The BBC News Website and a Civil Liberties organization are claiming that the BBC Persian website has been blocked by the government of Iran.

Reports indicate that the cities of Shiraz and Zahedan are unable to access bbcpersian.com. As of press time no explanation has been given for the block. The BBC said that it would approach the Iranian government to ask about getting unblocked.

Iranian internet providers routinely block pornographic and anti-Islamic websites, but they also block some pro-reform websites and blogs, sometimes permanently. This follows a history of alleged censorship - in 2004 the pro-reform Emrooz, Rooydad and Baamdad online newspapers were reported to have been shut down or blocked often.