WebProNews

The Iranian government has plans to block private access to the Internet for the general legislative election on March 14, Iranian news agencies are reporting.

The reasoning behind the shutting down of the Internet was inconsistent. "Shutting down the Internet service will depend on security plans and on the Ministry of Telecommunication," said Mostafa Pourmohammadi, the interior minister.

Senior election official Muhammad Javad Mahmoudi, said a shutdown would allow the government to have unimpeded Internet service for the election, despite the fact the governments Internet connections have been upgraded.

Iran has been widely  known to censor and block Web sites along with putting journalists in prison for speaking out against the regime. Reporters Without Borders lists Iran 166th in its Worldwide Press Freedom Index for 2007 out of a possible 169 countries.

Reporters Without Borders says in its annual report, "Iran comes last in the region in the Reporters Without Borders worldwide press freedom index. Evin prison, overlooking Teheran, is the region's biggest jail for journalists and at the end of the year, five journalists were still languishing there for 'undermining national security' by simply being outspoken."

"Only journalists in media outlets close to the regime's leaders (and thus protected by them) are allowed to criticize President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's government."