Tehran, September 28, 2023 – An internet blackout has shrouded Iran as protests escalate across the country, with at least 2,615 people confirmed dead, including 13 children, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA). The ongoing unrest, initially sparked by economic grievances two weeks ago, has rapidly evolved into a widespread anti-regime movement.
The protests represent an unprecedented challenge to the Islamic Republic, with demonstrators openly calling for the removal of Supreme leader ali Khamenei.
“I saw it with my own eyes,” said Amirhossein, a human rights activist who participated in two weeks of protests in Tehran. Speaking in a voice note, he described “madness” on the streets, witnessing security forces firing on civilians. “A wave of people had taken to the streets, because of international pressure, and because the situation was deeply against the Islamic Republic. The security forces had descended into madness, firing at everything out of fear for their own lives. They no longer cared whether it was a woman, a man, or a child.” Amirhossein requested his first name be used to honor a young protester killed during the recent demonstrations.
‘Turned into a Purge’
Table of Contents
Despite the internet shutdown, which began Friday morning AEDT, some Iranians are circumventing the restrictions using services like Starlink to share information. Mina Khani, a member of Hengaw, an Iranian Kurdish association documenting human rights violations, explained the difficulties in verifying information. “The internet has been wholly shut down for several days, and dialog is heavily restricted. Making it very difficult to get verified information for us.”
HRANA reports that at least 153 members of security forces and government supporters have also lost their lives. However,the organization acknowledges that the actual death toll could be significantly higher,as many injured and deceased are reportedly hiding in their homes. Amirhossein estimates that “we may have seen a third of the disaster” reported so far.
The crackdown reportedly peaked over the weekend, with Amirhossein describing it as “a purge.” He stated, “anyone who came out onto the streets was killed by snipers, from buildings, and mercilessly in the streets.” Hengaw asserts that the recent crackdown “contains clear and multiple elements of crimes against humanity,” citing the “massive killing, attacking hospitals, [and] targeting and killing children” as intentional acts.
Concerns are mounting for those detained during the protests. Human Rights Watch Australia director Daniela Gavshon warned, “They are being accused by authorities of being ‘enemies of God’, which in Iran carries the death penalty.” At least 18,470 individuals have been arrested, including Erfan Soltani, a 26-year-old protester sentenced to execution and now a symbol of resistance. Authorities reportedly informed Soltani’s family that the death sentence is final, though a government official stated there are “no plans for hanging.”
‘Regime in a Bad spot’
Dara Conduit,a political science lecturer at melbourne University,believes the “regime is in a bad spot,” facing a confluence of challenges. “Developments internationally over the last couple of years have made it feel extremely vulnerable,” he said, citing the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, the weakening of Hezbollah in lebanon, and the Iran-Israel conflict.”The Iranian regime has been trading on it’s strength…and within the space of a few days,it became very clear that actually israel had deeply penetrated Iran.”
Protest movements are not new to Iran, with numerous uprisings since the 1979 revolution. Conduit emphasized that this movement is “deeply rooted in Iranian society, and these grievances are very real and very widely felt.” Iranian authorities accuse the U.S. and Israel of fomenting unrest through “armed terrorists.”
The scale of the current unrest reportedly caught authorities off guard,though one Western official indicated the government’s security apparatus remains in control. Iranian President Masoud pezeshkian stated that as long as the government maintains popular support, “all the enemies’ efforts against the country will come to nothing.”
‘As if the Whole City Poured into the Streets’
HRANA reports that the protests have spread to 187 cities across the country,encompassing 617 protest gatherings in just 18 days. Amirhossein described this wave of protests as different from previous movements.”This time, all the women, children, old and young, all said together that once and for all, let’s all come out into the streets,” he said. “Even those who couldn’t come out into the streets were chanting slogans from their windows and supporting each other, and it was as if the whole city had poured out into the streets.”
“It means people who’ve been pushed to the very edge have nothing left to lose, and they’re saying: ‘You only die once, you only mourn once’, so let’s take to the streets again,” Amirhossein added. Despite the “horrifying crackdown” and ongoing internet blackout, he remains hopeful for change. “If they throw someone to the bottom of a well, there’s still hope they might be rescued from there. This is human nature. We have no other way.What else can we do? Die by mass suicide? We’re forced to go on. We’re forced to hold on to hope for the future.”
This story was produced in collaboration with SBS Persian.
Related reading
