A group of Iranian journalists and reporters is speaking out against the censorship of content on news websites.

The Mehr News Agency published the group’s statement on June 8. It denounces the “rising incidence of unregulated restrictions” on active websites.

The announcement indicates that on several occasions in the past year, “unauthorized individuals” have contacted official websites and news outlets to request that a certain article or text be removed from their site.

The statement claims that state decision-making in the online world springs from various sources and it maintains that many of these sources impose their views on the media without legal justification.

Mehr reports being subjected to such filtering efforts and adds that the situation was resolved by the Prosecutor General Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, who removed the restrictions.

Many analysts have linked recent pressure on the media to the state’s fear of protests in the coming presidential election.

Radio Zamaneh