Turaj Kazemi
- Deputy of the FATA Police Organised Crime Centre, National (2011 - 2013)
- Head of the FATA Police Organised Crime Centre, National (2013 - 2017)
- Human Rights Violation: Controlling and censoring internet (2011 - 2017) read more
- Institution
- Cyber Police (FATA)
- Location
- (National)
- Rights Violated
- Right to freedom from torture, Right to freedom of expression, Right to life, Right to privacy
- Description
Touraj Kazemi has been a high-ranking official of the Iranian cyber police (FATA), since 2011, and has played a key role in violating the privacy of Internet users, arresting and torturing cyber activists, and restricting users' access to the Internet. During Kazemi's tenure as FATA Police Deputy Chief of Crime, Sattar Beheshti, a blogger and worker, was arrested on 30 November, 2012, and was killed on 4 November, 2012 in a FATA police detention centre as a result of severe beatings and torture.
The Iranian Information Production and Exchange (FATA) cyber Police was established in February 2011 with the aim of "protecting religious identity" and "protecting national interests, secrets and authority" in cyberspace. In December 2011, Turaj Kazemi, the FATA police's then deputy chief of crime, clearly stated that the FATA police were using the ability and expertise of "hackers" to better control the exchange of information on the internet and attack dangerous websites.
- Sources
Sattar Beheshti: A Story, Boroumand Foundation, 5 November, 2012
https://www.iranrights.org/fa/memorial/story/-7809/sattar-beheshti
FATA Police Pressurizes Internet Company to Disclose a User's Personal Information, Iran Human Rights Campaign, May 2014
https://justice4iran.org/persian/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Kazemi-2.pdf
Identification and arrest of illegal bloggers in the west of Tehran province, Mehr News Agency, 2012
https://justice4iran.org/persian/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Kazemi-3.pdf
FATA Police Chief: Government to determine the crime of using VPN, Mehr News Agency, 2014
https://justice4iran.org/persian/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Kazemi-5.pdf
- Human Rights Violation: Controlling and censoring internet (2011 - 2017) read more
- Head of the Tehran\'s FATA Cyber Police, Tehran (Tehran Province) (2017 - present)
In a decision dated 25 April, 2012, the European Union placed 17 Iranian officials, including Touraj Kazemi, on its human rights sanctions list for their role in widespread and severe violations of the rights of Iranian citizens. According to the decision, Kazemi will be barred from entering the union and all his assets will be confiscated in Europe.