NEWS: Iran jails blogger Arash Sigarchi for 14 years

Arash Sigarchi, an Iranian blogger, has been given a sentence of 14 years revolutionary court in the northern part of the country. He was convicted on charges that he aided foreign counter-revolutionaries and spying. Sigarchi had used his blog to criticize the government for arresting other online journalists. A second blogger, Motjaba Saminejad, is still being held.



As seen by the banner of our front page, the internet community has begun an effort to help the two. However, this conviction is no doubt a blow to freedom in Iran. The only light here is that this highlights the growing rift between the hard core religious fanatics and the surge of younger Iranians that want reform and open relations with the West. The hard core religious rulers are making a serious mistake if they feel that this crackdown will stop the growing force that is blogging. Much like the RIAA going after Napster, it will force the community to adapt and go undergrownd where it is impossible to track and spreads like wildfire.

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It also shows that, for all the bluster, blogs and the internet are not a 'special' form of media. They can be monitored, and if not censored, then the authors in country can simply be arrested. Tradtional media locally made, and annonymously distributed might be a better way to propagandize in a closed society like iran, whcih is rather counter-intuitive.