“They are lying. They are lying. Everything is a lie… no matter how much I begged, they didn’t let me see my daughter,” Amjad Amini told BBC Farsia on Wednesday.
When she saw her daughter’s body being carried to the funeral, it was completely wrapped except for her legs and face, although she noticed bruises on her legs. “I don’t know what they did to him,” she said.
CNN could not independently verify its account with hospital officials.
CCTV footage released by Iran’s state media shows Mahsa Amini collapsing at a “re-education” center where she was taken by morality police to receive “guidance” on her clothing.
Protests and deadly clashes with police have broken out across Iran’s towns and cities despite officials’ efforts to prevent the demonstrations from spreading through internet blackouts.
internet outage
Internet watchdog Netblocks said late Wednesday that mobile networks were mostly shut down, with access to Instagram and Whatsapp restricted.
Internet access has been almost completely cut off in parts of Iran’s western Kurdistan province since Monday evening, with regional blackouts in other parts of the country, including Sanandaj and Tehran.
It came after Iran’s communications minister warned of a possible internet blackout “for security purposes and for discussions on recent events,” according to the country’s semi-official ISNA news agency.
At the time, Iran was almost completely offline — Oracle Internet Intelligence called it “the largest internet shutdown ever seen in Iran.”
A number of Iranian state government websites, including the official websites of the president and the Central Bank of Iran, went offline this week, and hacker collective Anonymous claimed responsibility.
“(Greetings) Iranian citizens. This is a message from Anonymous to all of Iran. We are here and with you,” the group’s social media account tweeted on Tuesday.
“We support your determination for peace against brutality and massacres. We know that your determination does not come from revenge, but from the longing for justice. All tyrants will fall to the ground before your courage. Long live free Iranian women.”
The hacker collective also claimed responsibility for temporarily hacking the website of Iran’s state media agency Fars early Wednesday morning, according to a tweet by Anonymous. The site has since been reactivated.
Growing anger over deadly clashes
At least eight people were killed, including a teenager killed in recent days According to Amnesty International, there were clashes during the protests.
At least four of the eight “died of injuries sustained when security forces fired metal pellets at close range,” Amnesty said in a report published on Wednesday.
According to the information of the Amnesty organization citing sources in Iran, four more people were shot by the security forces. He added that witness statements and video analysis showed a pattern of “Iranian security forces unlawfully and repeatedly firing metal pellets directly at protesters.”
Riot police were deployed to disperse protesters in the capital Tehran on Wednesday night, arresting several people, according to witnesses who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
The witness of the incident said that riot police used tear gas near Tehran University with “heavy hand pressure”.
Another witness in the eastern part of the city said protesters were heard shouting “Death to the dictator,” a reference to Iran’s Supreme Leader, and “I kill anyone who kills my sister,” referring to Amin.
Videos of nationwide protests show people tearing down posters of the Supreme Leader and women burning their hijabs and cutting their hair in a symbolic act of defiance.
CNN has reached out to police and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, who joined riot police in Tehran on Wednesday night, for comment. They did not make any statements about the demonstrations or the attitude of law enforcement agencies to the protests.
International activists and leaders have also expressed concern about the protests and police violence.
The Swedish foreign minister said on Wednesday that Sweden stands with Iranians mourning Amini and demanded that the authorities respect their right to peaceful protest. Germany also called on the Iranian authorities to “allow peaceful demonstrations and above all not to use any violence” at a press conference on Wednesday.
British Foreign Secretary Tariq Ahmed said Britain was “extremely concerned by reports of serious ill-treatment of Ms Amini and many others by security forces”.
“The use of violence in response to the expression of fundamental rights by women or any other members of Iranian society is completely unjustified,” the statement said.
