According to Reporters without Borders Annual Report, of the 13 journalists and bloggers arrested in 2005, 5 were still being held at the beginning of this year.  RSF has reported over a dozen incidents of arrests and other infringements of human rights against journalists this year in Iran, including Ayfer Serçe, whose recent death is believed to be linked with her work as a journalist.

Iranian authorities censor all sorts of online content ranging from sex, international politics, local gambling, chat rooms and any other topic that makes the government uneasy. 

Blogger Sayeed Habibi, whose blog (in Arabic only) is still up and running, fears that he may soon see the inside of a jail cell for his expressions against the Iranian Theocracy.  According to the Associated Press, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, a prominent human rights lawyer, estimates at least 50 bloggers have been detained since last year.

But there’s a new blogger in town, and it’s doubtful that he will be censored.  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s first blog entry consisted of a two thousand word autobiography as well as a poll asking if Iranians believe that the U.S. and Israel are attempting to trigger a new world war.  Over 10,000 people visited the blog during the first day it was posted.

Many citizens believe the blog to simply be a publicity stunt.  During an interview with the AP, blogger Keivan Mehrgan reported "Ahmadinejad used to have nothing to do with the internet and even talked against journalists and bloggers before he became president.”

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