Mahsa Amini’s father says Iran authorities lied about her death, as protests rage

Amjad Amini, whose daughter Mahsa died after being arrested in Tehran by morality police, mentioned docs had refused to let him see his daughter after her dying.

Iranian officers have claimed she died after struggling a “coronary heart assault” and falling right into a coma, however her household have mentioned she had no pre-existing coronary heart situation, in accordance with Emtedad information, an Iranian pro-reform media outlet. Public skepticism over the officers’ account of her dying has sparked an outpouring of anger that has spilled into lethal protests.

CNN couldn’t independently confirm his account with hospital officers.

CCTV footage launched by Iran’s state media confirmed Mahsa Amini collapsing at a “re-education” middle the place she was taken by the morality police to obtain “steering” on her apparel.

Protests and lethal clashes with police have damaged out in cities and cities throughout Iran, regardless of authorities’ makes an attempt to curb the unfold of demonstrations by means of web blackouts.

Web blackouts

Cell networks have been largely shut down and entry to Instagram and Whatsapp have been restricted, web watchdog Netblocks mentioned on Wednesday night.

There was a near-total disruption to web entry in components of Iran’s western Kurdistan province from Monday night, and regional blackouts in different components of the nation together with Sanandaj and Tehran.

This comes after Iran’s Minister of Communications warned that there might be web disruptions “for safety functions and discussions associated to current occasions,” in accordance with the nation’s semi-official ISNA information company.

On the time, Iran was taken virtually fully offline — which Oracle’s Web Intelligence referred to as the “largest web shutdown ever noticed in Iran.”

This week, a number of Iranian state authorities web sites — together with the official websites of the President and of Iran’s Central Financial institution — had been additionally offline, with the hacker collective Nameless claiming accountability.

“(Greetings) Residents of Iran. This can be a message from Nameless to all Iran. We’re right here and we’re with you,” a social media account affiliated with the group tweeted on Tuesday.

“We assist your dedication for peace in opposition to brutality and massacres. We all know that your dedication stems not from vengeance, however out of your eager for justice. All tyrants will fall earlier than your braveness. Lengthy stay free Iranian ladies.”

The hacker collective additionally took accountability for briefly taking down the web site of Iran’s state media information company Fars early Wednesday morning, in accordance with a tweet from Nameless. The web site has since come again on-line.

Rising fury over lethal clashes

At the very least eight folks, together with a youngster, have been killed in current days attributable to clashes on the protests, in accordance with the human rights group Amnesty Worldwide.

At the very least 4 of these eight “died from accidents sustained from safety forces firing metallic pellets at shut vary,” mentioned Amnesty in a report printed Wednesday.

4 others had been shot by safety forces, Amnesty mentioned, citing sources in Iran. It added that eyewitness accounts and video evaluation present a sample of “Iranian safety forces unlawfully and repeatedly firing metallic pellets straight at protesters.”

Riot police had been mobilized to disperse protesters Wednesday night time within the capital Tehran, and had been seen arresting a number of folks, in accordance with eyewitnesses who didn’t need to be named for security causes.

The riot police deployed tear gasoline, with a “heavy-handed crackdown” close to Tehran College, mentioned an eyewitness.

One other eyewitness within the metropolis’s jap district mentioned protesters had been heard shouting “Demise to the dictator,” a reference to Iran’s Supreme Chief, and “I kill anybody who killed my sister,” referring to Amini.

Movies from protests nationwide present folks destroying posters of the Supreme Chief, and ladies burning their hijabs and reducing off their hair in a symbolic present of defiance.

CNN has reached out to the police and Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which joined riot police on Wednesday night time in Tehran, for remark. They haven’t issued any assertion on the demonstrations or on regulation enforcement’s dealing with of the protests.

Worldwide activists and leaders have additionally expressed concern concerning the protests and alleged police violence.

The Swedish Overseas Minister mentioned on Wednesday that Sweden stands with Iranians mourning Amini, and demanded that authorities respect their proper to peaceable protest. Germany additionally referred to as on Iranian authorities to “permit peaceable demonstrations and, above all, to not use any additional violence” throughout a information convention on Wednesday.

The UK’s Overseas Workplace Minister Tariq Ahmad mentioned Britain was “extraordinarily involved at experiences of significant mistreatment of Ms Amini, and plenty of others, by the safety forces.”

“Using violence in response to the expression of basic rights, by ladies or another members of Iranian society, is wholly unjustifiable,” the assertion mentioned.