DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates According to a tally by The Associated Press on Thursday, clashes between Iranian security forces and protestors enraged over the murder of a 22-year-old woman in police custody had claimed the lives of at least nine people since the unrest started over the weekend.
The extent of Iran’s current unrest, the worst in several years, is still unknown as demonstrators in at least a dozen cities continue to clash with security and paramilitary forces as they express their rage over social repression and the country’s escalating woes.
On Thursday, widespread failures of WhatsApp and Instagram, which protestors use to spread the word of the government’s escalating crackdown on dissent, persisted. Authorities also looked to be interfering with internet connections, a practice that rights advocates claim the government frequently does when there is unrest.
The Revolutionary Guard, a paramilitary group, urged the judiciary on Thursday to pursue legal action against “anyone who spreads fake news and rumors” on social media about the unrest in a nation where radio and television stations are already subject to state control and journalists are frequently threatened with arrest.
The Iranian protests had their start as an outpouring of emotion following the passing of Mahsa Amini, a young lady who had been detained by the country’s morality police for allegedly breaking its rigidly enforced dress code. The United States, the European Union, and the United Nations have all harshly condemned her death.
