Instagram Apologizes over Closure of Imam Khomeini Account

(FNA)- Instagram apologized for the closure of the account 'emamKhomeini' dedicated to the late founder of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Imam Khomeini, saying it was the result of a "mistake".

The account which had over 100,000 followers was deactivated on the threshold of the annual ceremonies held in Iran to commemorate the anniversary of Imam Khomeini's demise on June 4, and another account 'emamKhomeiny' was launched to replace it - by the owners of the original account. But the original account was restored on June 1.

"We are very sorry for our mistake here. When reviewing reports from the Instagram community we do not always get it right and we wrongly removed an account. As soon as we were made aware, we reactivated the account and restored the content," an Instagram spokesperson told the BBC Monitoring by email.

The Instagram account, 'emamKhomeini', which carries rare photos of the revolutionary leader, had more than 110,000 followers as of 8 June.

Instagram which had blocked the account of Imam Khomeini was forced to reactivate the page due to his followers' protest letters and media backlash.

Instagram had announced in an email that it omitted the account and erased about 500,000 photos and posts as well as over 100,000 followers from the account.

After several media reports and thousands of letters by creators of 'emamKhomeini' Instagram account and its followers to the app owners to protest the move as a clear violation of the freedom of speech, the Instagram was forced to reactivate the page.

The account of a leader who has been admired and loved by tens of millions of people was omitted while there are millions of Instagram accounts containing violent and obscene contents, including the pages belonging to the Takfiri terrorist groups like the ISIL, which even release images of the beheadings done by them.

Faced with Instagram's unfair treatment, the Imam Khomeini lovers created a new account under the name of 'emamKhomeiny' which they said would continue the past approach and releases photos and remarks of the great leader. The new account had attracted over 22,000 followers in just two days.

Now the followers have come back to the restored original account 'emamKhomeini'.