VOA标准英语2009-Iranian Police Set Up 'Internet Crime' Unit

By Edward Yeranian
Cairo
14 November 2009

 
An Iranian youth browses¹ a political blog at an internet cafe in the city of Hamadan (May 2009 file photo)
A top Iranian police official says that a new police unit has been set up to combat what he calls "Internet crime". Analysts², however, are interpreting the move as another step by the government to crack down on the opposition³, which uses the Internet heavily to communicate and spread its message.

Iran's top police chief, Brigadier General Esmail Ahmadi-Moqaddam says that his organization is setting up a "cyber police division" to combat what he terms "Internet crime."

Fars News Agency reported that Ahmadi-Moqaddam complained that "Internet crime" was on the rise and that the Iranian police must "increase its capabilities⁴ to counter such violations⁵."

Iranian law mixes activities such as theft, fraud and forgery⁶, with more subtle and often political activities lumped together under the categories "defamation⁷ and mischief⁸." The latter two categories have analysts worried.

Police Colonel Mehrdad Omidi, who runs the Internet crime division, stated in the Iranian press, Saturday, that what he calls "insults and spreading of lies," would be fought vigorously.

He also noted⁹ that a 12-member commission would now be involved in policing "political matters on the internet." He said , given the spread of Internet use, police must confront crimes taking police in the Web atmosphere.

Most Iranian opposition Web sites, including those of top leaders Mir Hossein Mousavi and Ayatollah Mehdi Karrubi are considered illegal and are now blocked inside Iran.

Reza Moini of Paris-based NGO Reporters Without Borders says that Iran's Revolutionary Guards are increasingly taking over internet surveillance from other government agencies:

He says that there are several points to stress: notably¹⁰ that when the Iranian parliament ratified¹¹ the Internet law there were several institutions put in charge of surveillance, but now, with the opposition movement continuing unabated, the regime is concerned that the Internet is playing a key role in informing people and spreading information. This, he says, is where the police are becoming involved, and he says, by police, what is meant is the "Guardians¹² of the Revolution," who are increasingly trying to seize the lead.
 
The Intelligence Ministry¹³ has clamped down on both the Internet and on mobile phone communications during opposition demonstrations¹⁴ to disrupt communications. Opposition activists¹⁶ complain that internet speeds were brought to dismally¹⁷ slow levels and that they were forced to use proxies¹⁸ to prevent their IP addresses from being detected.

Still, many popular opposition sites, like Mir Hossein Mousavi's Facebook Web page, get thousands of visitors daily and put out up-to-the-minute bulletins of opposition activities.

One well-known young opposition activist¹⁵, Mohammed Reza Jalaiepour, who was later arrested by the government, placed this emotional confession¹⁹ about why he joined the opposition on Mousavi's Facebook Web site.

Reza Moini says that there are a handful of Internet activists and website creators who have been arrested by the government and are now languishing²⁰ in prison.

Police Colonel Omidi insists that Iranian government authorities will intervene in political matters on the Internet if there has been an illegal act.

Iranian intellectuals and opposition activists remain in contact with each other and with the outside world by posting comments and information about their activities on Web sites both inside and outside Iran. Many complain that they live in fear of being detected by the government and arrested.

1 browses   

n.吃草( browse的名词复数 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息v.吃草( browse的第三人称单数 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息

参考例句：

• The picture browses:The picture which supports JPG, BMP format browses. 嫩枝图片：图片支持规划组、嫩枝BMP的格式。 来自互联网
• NIV I am my lover's and my lover is mine; he browses among the lilies. 3[和合]我属我的2良人；我的良人也属我。他在百合花中牧放群羊。 来自互联网

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

4 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

6 forgery   

n.伪造的文件等，赝品，伪造（行为）

参考例句：

• The painting was a forgery.这张画是赝品。
• He was sent to prison for forgery.他因伪造罪而被关进监狱。

7 defamation   

n.诽谤；中伤

参考例句：

• Character defamation can be either oral or written.人格诽谤既可以是口头的也可以是书面的。
• The company sued for defamation.这个公司因受到诽谤而提起诉讼。

8 mischief   

n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹

参考例句：

• Nobody took notice of the mischief of the matter. 没有人注意到这件事情所带来的危害。
• He seems to intend mischief.看来他想捣蛋。

9 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

10 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

11 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

12 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

13 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

14 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

15 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

16 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 dismally   

adv.阴暗地，沉闷地

参考例句：

• Fei Little Beard assented dismally. 费小胡子哭丧着脸回答。 来自子夜部分
• He began to howl dismally. 它就凄凉地吠叫起来。 来自辞典例句

18 proxies   

n.代表权( proxy的名词复数 )；（测算用的）代替物；（对代理人的）委托书；（英国国教教区献给主教等的）巡游费

参考例句：

• SOCKS and proxies are unavailable. Try connecting to XX again? socks和代理不可用。尝试重新连接到XX吗？ 来自互联网
• All proxies are still down. Continue with direct connections? 所有的代理仍然有故障。继续直接连接吗？ 来自互联网

19 confession   

n.自白，供认，承认

参考例句：

• Her confession was simply tantamount to a casual explanation.她的自白简直等于一篇即席说明。
• The police used torture to extort a confession from him.警察对他用刑逼供。

20 languishing   

a. 衰弱下去的

参考例句：

• He is languishing for home. 他苦思家乡。
• How long will she go on languishing for her red-haired boy? 为想见到她的红头发的儿子，她还将为此烦恼多久呢？