Fearing the spread of protests and warning of foreign plots to destabilize the country, Iranian authorities have cracked down hard. As the protests enter their eighth week, human rights groups say at least 277 people have been killed, including several dozen members of the security forces. Authorities point to the killing of security forces to argue they are dealing with a violent uprising and have threatened to charge the “rioters” with “war against God,” a capital offense. Mass arrests have so far indicted 1,000 people, including dozens of students, who activists say could now face the death penalty. Tehran has also restricted the internet in an attempt to stop protesters organizing online and sharing information with the outside world. “We face a lot of difficulties accessing the internet, a lot of things were blocked by the government. We mainly communicate through Telegram, using proxy services to connect,” said the 22-year-old student.
Videos make an impact
Despite excruciatingly slow upload speeds, the videos that have been shared are having a significant impact on the protest movement, according to Roham Alvandi, an Iranian history expert at the London School of Economics. “These kinds of images wipe out what little legitimacy the regime has left,” he said. Tehran’s concern about the impact of social media is evident in the convoluted way it has blocked some apps and throttled connection speeds in protest hotspots, he said. “It is simply impossible for the Islamic Republic to control the narrative of what is happening and it is absolutely devastating for them. “I would predict that a mass movement will emerge. We are 49 days into this insurgency with no signs of stopping and I think it will continue to grow as new outrages emerge,” Mr Alvandi said. “Most people recognize that we’re not going to go back to the status quo ante.”
