“Khuzestan protests” and nationwide internet disruptions
Videos have been posted on social media purporting to be from the Dezful and Mahshahr protests. Demonstrators are chanting slogans against the leaders of the Islamic Republic. At the same time, there have been reports of internet disruptions.
On Wednesday evening (May 11), videos were published on social media in which a number of citizens chanted slogans such as "Death to Khamenei," "Death to Raisi," "Tank cannons explode, the mullah must disappear," and "Reza Shah, may your soul be happy."
The videos are said to be from protests in Dezful and Mahshahr. DW is unable to verify or confirm the location of these videos.
In recent days, protests against high prices and living conditions have been held in various cities in Khuzestan, which have been met with a harsh government response. Among the government measures to prevent the spread of the protests were slowing down the internet speed and, in some cases, cutting off the internet and mobile phones.
Netblocks, an organization that monitors internet outages and disruptions around the world, reported on Wednesday evening (May 11) temporary outages and disruptions in the internet of some Iranian operators.
The NGO wrote in a Twitter message: "Based on live data, international data exchange on the Rightel Internet Service Network in Iran is currently experiencing a sharp decline."
According to Netblocks, data exchange on mobile and landline networks is also facing problems. The tweet continues by saying that “speed reductions could limit the free flow of information amid the protests.”
Rightel is the third largest nationwide mobile phone operator in Iran.
Previous protests and government response
Demonstrations and unrest in Khuzestan in response to high prices and livelihood difficulties began on the evening of May 5, and as they continued in the following days, the repression and arrests of protesters increased.
According to the website of the "Campaign for the Defense of Political and Civil Prisoners," Saeed Dahimi, a citizen of Ahwazi, was arrested on May 7, along with Atiyeh Mughinami, a municipal employee, and Hossein Mughinami, a resident of Susangerd County.
Previously, the names of the seven arrested citizens were announced as Jassim Bahrani, Hashem Bahrani, Mohammad Tarafi, Adel Hammadi, Mustafa Chaldavi, Abbas Chaldavi, and Emad Savari.
On May 8, the Emtaed website, close to the "Ittehad-e-Mellat Party", also reported, citing a Khuzestan civil activist, street protests and actions such as burning tires in Arab areas of Ahvaz such as Zar'an, Akhar Asfalt, Alavi Alley, and Mashali Alley (Abuzar).
The civil activist also said that "Susangard and Izeh also experienced violent nights and witnessed the large presence of protesting people on the streets."
Source: DW
