Security forces have arrested nine people connected to a whistleblower page on social media platform Telegram, the chief of Police in the province of Kurdistan, western Iran, says.
Fifteen natural and ten legal persons have sued the managers of the page, named "A'MAK", (Persian acronym for "disclosure of the performance of Kurdestan's managers"), the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps General Ali Azadi announced, adding, "The judicial department in Kurdistan has charged the detainees with disappointing people, disrupting the public peace, libelous publications, action against national security, and having links with Iranian dissident groups outside the country."
Gen. Azadi has also claimed that the Telegram channel administrators had terrorist intentions since they published the names of the "people related to the Islamic Republic regime."
Although there are Kurdish group actively opposed to the Islamic Republic, it is not clear if the detainees are in any way connected with insurgents.
All admins and contributors to the page are inside Iran and currently detained, Gen. Azadi declared, adding that they have not yet been indicted.
Meanwhile, he admitted that he had no information about their condition behind bars.
Earlier last month, a website outside Iran, AvaToday, had reported the detention of the nine, identifying them as members of the IRGC. Nevertheless, the IRGC general categorically denied any relation between his troops, the Telegram Channel, and the detainees.