Iran: Internet deliberately shut down during November 2019, hiding the true scale of unlawful killings by security forces
18-November-2020
Category: Uncategorized
Breathing in Confinement: On the occasion of the anniversary of the deadliest day of the November 2019 protests, Amnesty International launched a new website “The killings Iran’s internet shutdown hid.”
Amnesty International quotes Diana Eltahawy, its Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, as saying: “When news of the deadly crackdown began to emerge from Iran last November, the world was shocked by the brutal violence of the security forces. The authorities deliberately blocked internet access inside Iran, hiding the true extent of the horrendous human rights violations that they were carrying out across the country.”
Ms. Al-Tahawi added: “The government thought they could silence the population by taking the country offline, but the Iranian people were determined to tell the world the truth. Our new website is a tribute to the courage of everyone who captured on camera the scenes of violence that the authorities wanted to keep hidden.”
According to Amnesty International, the website – a joint investigation between Amnesty International and The Hertie School, in partnership with the Internet Outage Detection and Analysis (IODA) project – features more than 100 verified videos from 31 cities, and reveals the repeated use of firearms, water cannons and tear gas by Iran’s security forces against unarmed protesters and bystanders.
In addition, key information about the names and pictures of the victims and details of the time and place of their murder can be downloaded in both English and Persian language.
Amnesty International has called on member states of the UN Human Rights Council to hold Iranian authorities accountable and conduct an independent inquiry into the killings of protesters and bystanders, including the children, in the November protests. Noting that Iranian officials have refused to open independent, impartial, and effective investigations into the killings.