Iran police hunt banned satellite dishes

Iran Focus: an MEK website

Iran’s police forces have been instructed to use all means, including helicopters, to locate and confiscate privately-owned satellite dishes, which are illegal in Iran.

A senior police commander in the north-eastern province of North Khorassan told local journalists in the provincial capital Mashad on Saturday that his forces have been using choppers to spot the satellite dishes and report them to ground units, which would then search the suspected homes and seize the dishes. Owners are imprisoned and expected to pay a heavy fine.

The local security forces commander said dozens of people had been arrested recently in the province for installing the dishes.

The Islamic Republic banned satellite dishes in 1995. The crackdown on satellite dishes was prompted by broadcasts from Iranian opposition groups whose television programs reportedly have a large audience in Iran.