It is not often that we agree with totalitarian regimes who have fondness for turning their military on their citizens, but this time the Syrians seem to have come up with a good idea.

In a desperate bit to stop people revolting, the Syrian government has decided to ban iPhones. In a statement apparently issued by the customs department of the Syrian finance ministry and seen by Lebanese and German media, the authorities "warn anyone against using the iPhone in Syria". The order also apparently prohibits the import of iPhones.

It is not clear why the iPhone has been singled out, and not anything Androidish. If the move is to stop activities from filming Syrian government atrocities and posting them online, you can equally do that without needing an iPhone. Android gear does the job just as efficiently and cheaper. Yet if you believe the BBC only the iPhone is being banned.

If the document posted on the Lebanese news website el-Nashra is genuine, the authorities threaten confiscation and prosecution for anyone found with an iPhone. It could not be biased reporting from the BBC which only thinks that there is one breed of smartphone out there and that is one which has been officially blessed by the late Steve Jobs.  In the UK if the BBC was seen to be biased in favour of one product, then it could be in a lot of hot water.

According to the customs announcement, which we had translated, it only mentions the iPhone, which means that Syrian authorities are too dim to know that there are other smartphones out there, or they just does not like Jobs' Mob that much.