An Iranian state television newscast was briefly hacked on Saturday night by opponents of the regime. Suddenly, an Anonymous mask and a photo of leader Ali Khamenei surrounded by flames appeared on the screen. In the background was the text: “Women, life, freedom.”
The rare interruption on state television happened around 6 p.m. local time. In addition to a photo of Khamenei – which also pointed to his head – photos of Jina ‘Mahsa’ Amini and other women killed in protests appeared on the screen. There were texts like “join and get up” and “our youth” .
During the broadcast of the Iranian regime leader's speech, a hacker group hacked Iran's state television and urged people to join the nationwide protests #MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/fi65Pcd5YW
— RiseUp4Rojava (@RISEUP4R0JAVA) October 9, 2022
The action has been claimed by a group calling itself ‘Adalat Ali’, meaning ‘Ali’s justice’. The state television interruption follows weeks of protests over Amini’s death. Earlier this week, it was also announced that Iranian teenagers Nika Shakarami and Sarina Esmailzadeh were killed by Iranian police.
WHAT HAPPENED TO MAHSA AMINI?
Mahsa Amini, 22, whose real first name is Zhina (Kurdish for ‘life’), was violently arrested on September 13 by the vice squad in the Iranian capital Tehran. The police check whether everyone follows the religious rules of the government and arrest women if they do not wear their headscarves (properly), walk in ‘trousers’ or otherwise do not comply with the dress code. This was also the reason for Mahsa’s arrest and therefore she would be taken to an ‘education center’ at the police station.
DEATH
According to eyewitnesses, Mahsa was mistreated by the police. When her brother wanted to visit her at the police station, she was already on her way to the hospital. She died there a few days later. Authorities claim she died of ‘sudden heart failure’, but according to her family and witnesses, Mahsa went into a coma from blows to her head and had already been declared brain dead on arrival at the hospital. A United Nations commissioner demanded an investigation into the death, which the Iranian president ordered on Sept. 23 amid ongoing protests in both Iran and other countries.
Catch up on more stories here
Follow us on Facebook here
