Internet disruption continues in Khuzestan; Reports: At least 10 protesters arrested

ArminMay 9, 2022

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Following protests in several cities over rising prices of basic goods, including bread, reports from Khuzestan indicate widespread internet disruptions in the province continued on Sunday for the third consecutive day.

According to Mohammad Mali, a journalist in Khuzestan Province, since Friday, May 6, the internet on Awal and Irancell has been down, and "connection is through other operators or wired Wi-Fi."

According to reports from Khuzestan, internet disruptions have slowed down the work of administrative and government institutions and organizations, making it impossible for citizens to even download and print documents they need to carry out administrative tasks.

A video report attributed to the Mahshahr center has captured images showing a heavy security atmosphere in the city on Sunday night, with special unit officers present in the city with weapons in their hands.

On the other hand, the Emtaed news website, on Sunday, May 8, quoted a civil activist in Khuzestan as saying that the continued internet outage in recent days has led to "almost complete ignorance" of the protests in this province, the first sparks of which "were set off in Susangerd" on Friday night, and "a large crowd of people protesting what was stated in the slogans as high prices and livelihood difficulties took to the streets of this city."

According to this report, street protests took place in Ahvaz on Friday and Saturday evenings "in the Arab areas of Zar'an, Akhar Asphalt, Alavi Alley, and Mashali Alley (Abuzar)," and widespread protests also took place in Susangerd and Izeh, which "were much more densely populated in Izeh County than in other parts of the province."

The news agency of the Human Rights Activists Association of Iran, HRANA, has also reported the continued establishment of a "security atmosphere and the presence of law enforcement officers and special units on the streets of Susangerd and Izeh."

According to HRANA, on the evening of Saturday, May 7, "at least 10 other citizens in the cities of Susangerd, Hamidieh, and Ahvaz" were arrested by security officials and transferred to unknown locations. Their identities were announced as "Saeed Daheimi, Ali Mughinami, Hossein Mughinami, Jassim Bahrani, Hashem Bahrani, Mohammad Tarafi, Adel Hammadi, Mustafa Chaldawi, Abbas Chaldawi, and Emad Savari."

The internet shutdown in Khuzestan to prevent the spread of livelihood protests has also had repercussions outside the Persian media space, as Jason Brodsky, policy director of the "Unity Against a Nuclear Iran" organization, wrote in a tweet: "Reports of internet shutdowns in Khuzestan indicate the regime's concern about protests in Iran over the increase in the price of bread."

He also mentioned the internet outage during the suppression of popular protests in November 2019.

Victoria Coats, former deputy US national security adviser, also welcomed Brodsky's remarks, writing, "When Elon Musk can deliver Starlink satellite internet to Ukraine, why can't we deliver it to Khuzestan and let the brave Iranians connect with the world?"

According to unofficial news, protests in several cities in Khuzestan province have also left several injured.

VOA cannot independently verify these reports.

According to social media users, the internet disruption coincided with calls for citizen protest marches in some parts of Khuzestan province against high prices.

Last year, Khuzestan Province was the scene of widespread citizen protests for several weeks as the water crisis intensified; protests from this province spread to some other regions of Iran, but ultimately subsided with violent and widespread repression by security and law enforcement forces.

Source: Voice of America

Armin

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