Hackers disrupted a leading Iranian state broadcaster’s newscast on Saturday with a message in support of the anti-regime protests as the mass demonstrations enter their fourth week.
The news program aired an image of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, then suddenly cut to the screen with photos of young women and girls killed during the protests.
Among the footage was a photo of Mahsa Amini, 22, whose death last month sparked a furious uprising against the regime while in the custody of Iran’s notorious morality.
Above the photos was an image of Khamenei with a cross in the middle of his forehead. Protesters regularly chanted “Death to the dictator” and called for regime change.
According to the London-based Iranian opposition, there was also a Persian text on the screen that read “The blood of our youth is on your hands” and a message calling on Iranians to join the protests. Iran International.
A hacking group called Edalat-e Ali claimed responsibility for the outage. Earlier this year, the group hacked the website of the Iranian state broadcaster and posted an opposition message on the page, Iran International reported.
#LAST MINUTE Edalat-e Ali hacktivist group hacked the live news broadcast of Iranian state television and displayed Khamenei’s photo with the verse “The blood of our youth is on your hands”. #MahsaAmini and three other girls were killed #IranProtests. pic.twitter.com/dYM7flUBQt
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) 8 October 2022
Other hacking groups played a role in the protests by attacking government websites, publishing documents and interfering with security cameras.
Launched in 2017, Iran International It reaches millions of Iranians in Iran and around the world. She is considered a news outlet against the Iranian regime and has made headlines by covering issues such as human rights abuses, LGBTQ+ rights and women’s rights in Iran.
Nationwide protests erupted following Amini’s death on September 16, three days after she was arrested in Tehran by the notorious morality police for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress code for women.
Iran said on Friday it had found that Amini had died from a longstanding illness rather than “blows” to the head, despite her family saying she was previously healthy.
simmering protests continued on saturdayDespite more than 90 deaths since it began, workers went on strike as female students shouted slogans and clashes broke out across the country.
Ultra-conservative Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has called for unity and posed for photos with female students at Tehran’s Al-Zahra University to put out the flames, but videos and photos posted on social media apparently show students outside the university taking off and taking off. shaking their headscarves, they condemned Raisi and the regime.
All women, the President of the Regime, went to Uni. today to take the mandatory “start of the school year” photo with a few select people. But just outside, the brave female students chanted slogans: “Get lost Raisi.. We don’t want a murderous guest.. At President Uni. While the students are in jail.” #MahsaAmini pic.twitter.com/KbOF9Ff3Fb
— Bahman Kalbasi (@BahmanKalbasi) 8 October 2022
In Amini’s hometown of Saqez, in western Kurdistan, videos recorded by the Hengaw rights group on Saturday showed female students chanting “Women, life, freedom” and were seen walking down the street waving their headscarves.
In another video he shared, a group of girls were heard saying the same phrase – the slogan of the protests – as they entered a school in Sanandaj, the capital of the Kurdistan province.
Another view of student protesters in the city of Saqqez.
8 October 2022#MahsaAmini#مهسا_امینیpic.twitter.com/QRDf8P2crd
— Hengaw Human Rights Organization (@Hengaw_English) 8 October 2022
In another widely shared video, a man is seen changing the phrase on a large government billboard from “Police are servants of the people” to “Police are killers of the people”.
ISNA news agency reported a heavy security presence in the capital, especially near universities. He said “scattered and limited meetings” were held in Tehran where “some demonstrators destroyed public property”.
Street protests have also been reported in Isfahan, Karaj, Shiraz and Tabriz, among other cities.
The Oslo-based Iranian Human Rights group says at least 92 protesters have been killed in crackdowns, fueling tensions between Iran and the West, particularly the United States.
