Iran suffers 'major disruption' of internet as protests loom
Iran has suffered a “major disruption” in internet service amid calls for renewed protests weeks after the death of a 22-year-old woman who had been detained by the country’s morality police
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran suffered a “major disruption” in internet service Wednesday amid calls for renewed protests weeks after the death of a 22-year-old woman who had been detained by the country's morality police, an advocacy group said.
The demonstrations over the death of Mahsa Amini have become one of the greatest challenges to Iran's theocracy since the country's 2009 Green Movement protests. Demonstrators have included oil workers, high school students and women marching without their mandatory headscarf, or hijab.
Calls for protests beginning at noon Wednesday saw a massive deployment of riot police and plainclothes officers throughout Tehran, witnesses said. They also described disruptions affecting their mobile internet services.
NetBlocks, an advocacy group, said that Iran's internet traffic had dropped to some 25% compared to the peak, even during a working day in which students were in class across the country.
