The Iranian authorities blocked access to the Instagram and WhatsApp applications Thursday, six days after protests against the death of a young woman arrested by the morality police, in which at least 17 people were killed, according to official media Thursday, while Washington announced the imposition of sanctions on this unit of the police.
But the outcome may be higher, as the opposition non-governmental organization “Iran Human Rights” announced in Oslo that 31 people were killed in the demonstrations.
The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini sparked strong condemnation around the world as international NGOs denounced the “brutal” crackdown on demonstrations. From the United Nations podium on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden expressed his solidarity with the “courageous women of Iran.”
On Thursday, Washington announced the imposition of economic sanctions on the Iranian morality police and several security officials for their “violence against demonstrators”, as well as against the background of the death of the young woman, Amini.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement that the sanctions target “the Iranian morality police and senior Iranian security officials responsible for this crackdown” and “demonstrate the Biden-Harris administration’s clear commitment to defending human and women’s rights in Iran and the world.”
The young woman, who hails from the province of Kurdistan in northwestern Iran, was arrested on September 13 in Tehran by the morality police for wearing “indecent clothes”. She passed away on September 16 in hospital.
According to activists, she received a fatal blow to the head, but Iranian officials denied this and announced an investigation.
Demonstrations erupted immediately after her death was announced. Since then, it has included 15 cities all the way to the Shiite holy city of Qom in southwest Tehran, the birthplace of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to the latest toll published by the official TV, 17 people have been killed since the protests erupted in Iran, including demonstrators and police.
On the other hand, director of “Iran Human Rights” Organization, Mahmoud Amiri, said in a statement, “The Iranian people took to the streets to struggle for their basic rights and human dignity, and the government responded to these peaceful demonstrations with bullets.”
Iran Human Rights confirmed the occurrence of demonstrations in more than 30 cities, expressing concern about the “mass arrests” of demonstrators and civil society activists.
Later, the Tasnim news agency reported that a fifth member of the security forces was killed on Wednesday evening in Quchan (northwest) “while trying to disperse rioters” in that city.
In response to the popular anger, President Ibrahim Raisi said Thursday from New York, where he is participating in the meetings of the United Nations General Assembly, that the death of Mahsa Amini will be investigated, stressing that he “contacted the family of the late.”
stifle freedom of expression
Since the protests began, communications have slowed and authorities have subsequently blocked access to Instagram and WhatsApp.
“By a decision of officials, it is no longer possible in Iran to access Instagram since Wednesday evening, and access to WhatsApp has also been disrupted,” Fars news agency said. Fares explained that this measure was taken due to “actions carried out by the counter-revolution against national security through these social networks.”
Instagram and WhatsApp were the two most used applications in Iran since platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Telegram, Twitter and Tik Tok were blocked in the past years. In addition, the use of the Internet is subject to restrictions by the authorities.
The United Nations human rights experts said that this ban “generally comes as part of efforts aimed at stifling freedom of expression and limiting demonstrations.”
During demonstrations in several provinces in Iran, demonstrators confronted the security forces, burned police vehicles and chanted anti-authority slogans, according to media and activists. The police responded by firing tear gas And arrested an unspecified number of people, according to Iranian media.
Pro-hijab demonstration on Friday
Pictures showed demonstrators standing up to the security forces. The most popular image on social networks was of women setting their headscarves on fire.
Demonstrators in Tehran chanted, “No to the veil, no to the turban, yes to freedom and equality,” and these chants resonated in New York and Istanbul.
“I like to wear this scarf like some people prefer to wear the chador,” 22-year-old makeup artist Mahtab told AFP in an upscale neighborhood of the Iranian capital. We should be forced” to put it.
In Iran, women are forced to cover their hair and the morality police forbid them to wear knee-high coats, tight pants, jeans with holes, and brightly colored clothes.
“It’s a social crisis,” David Rigoli-Rose, a researcher at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations, told AFP.
And on Friday, at the invitation of a government organization, demonstrations in support of the veil will be held in various parts of Iran, especially in front of Tehran University after Friday prayers, according to the official Iranian news agency.
“These demonstrations aim to condemn the inappropriate actions of some mercenaries who burned mosques and the Iranian holy flag, desecrated women’s veils, destroyed public property and affected security,” the agency said.
The demonstrations of the past few days are among the largest in Iran since the November 2019 demonstrations, which erupted after raising fuel prices at the height of an economic crisis. The protest movement spread to about a hundred cities and was forcefully suppressed. The official death toll was 230 and more than 300, according to Amnesty International.