As of Jan. 12, Iranian citizens have remained without internet or telecommunications access for 96 hours, according to online monitoring group NetBlocks [10].
Amid the collapse of Iran's currency, protests erupted [11] in Tehran late last month and quickly spread across the country. Dozens of protesters and bystanders have been killed, according to human rights groups monitoring the situation.
Rebecca White, a researcher at Amnesty International's Security Lab, stated [12] that Iran is intentionally masking grave human rights violations and international crimes. She said that the government has previously weaponized internet shutdowns. During the November 2019 protests [13], security forces killed hundreds of protestors and bystanders under a near-total blackout. This pattern was repeated in the 2022 "Woman Life Freedom" uprising.
White called on the Iranian government to restore full internet access immediately. "The right to protest extends to digital spaces. Blanket or total internet cuts are inherently disproportionate under international human rights law, and must never be imposed, even in cases of emergency. Iranian authorities must immediately restore full internet access."
Internet shutdowns have also carried a heavy economic price. Sharareh Abdolhoseinzadeh, a political researcher in Tehran, reported [14] that after the internet disruption during the 2022 uprising, businesses faced daily losses ranging from 500 million to 5 billion Rial. He calculated that the cost of three months of internet outages in Iran equate to 43% of the country’s annual oil revenue, which stands at $25 billion.
As the protests enter their second week, Human Rights Watch (HRW) reports [15] that the government is using lethal force to crush the unrest. Security forces are deploying military-grade weapons, metal pellets, and tear gas against largely unarmed citizens. The group Iran Human Rights [16] reported Jan. 6 that the security forces had killed at least 27 protesters and bystanders, including children, and injured hundreds more. Under the cloak of internet darkness, there is reason to believe that the toll is now far higher, with reports emerging [6] of hospitals overwhelmed with casualties. Some estimates [7] have placed the death toll at nearly 600.
The Iranian government has only intensified its rhetoric. Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei promised [8] no leniency for protesters, whom he characterized as "enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
From JURIST [17], Jan. 12. Used with permission. Internal links added.
