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Iran, October 9, 2022

Iran state TV hijacked by protesters during supreme leader speech

Original source

The Telegraph

Iran’s state TV was hijacked during a speech by the country’s supreme leader late on Saturday, with his address replaced by images of the young women that have been killed in the protests that have rocked the country over the last four weeks.

For about 15 seconds, images that were sympathetic to the nationwide women-led protest movement were aired, including photos of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei surrounded by flames as the phrases “the blood of our youth is on your hands” and “join us and rise up!” flashed across the screen.

A popular chant of protesters across the country “Woman. Life. Freedom” was woven into a song that played over the background of the hacking, which was claimed by the Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice) hacktivist group.

The hacking came as the demonstrations presenting the biggest threat to the Islamic regime in years entered their fourth week amid increasingly heavy crackdowns by security forces.

The protests were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini after she was detained by Tehran's notorious morality police, allegedly for not covering her hair properly.

Two members of Iran’s security forces were killed in the protests on Saturday, according to Iranian state media, bringing the total to an estimated 14.

Meanwhile, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights said at least 185 people have been collectively killed in the protests.

With large-scale street protests subsiding in Tehran, the youth-led demonstrations have taken over university campuses.

School girls have been seen marching down the streets waving their legally mandated hijabs in the air and shouting “death to the dictator”, while Tehran’s prestigious Sharif university remains closed after a violent crackdown on student protesters last weekend.

Tehran’s bazaars have also seen clashes as many shopkeepers joined a growing nationwide strike.

According to videos online thousands of protesters descended on Tehran’s Amirkabir University of Technology on Saturday.

At the same time, President Ebrahim Raisi visited the all-female Al Zahra university, using it as an opportunity to double down on the government’s rhetoric that the protests were being organised by foreign enemies.

"The enemy thought that it can pursue its desires in universities while unaware that our students and teachers are aware and they will not allow the enemies' vain plans to be realised," he said.

Female students chanted "get lost" at the premier in return, videos on social media show.

In the Kurdish cities of Sanandaj and Saqez, where mass demonstrations had been called for, security forces shot at protestors and fired tear gas according to the Hengaw human rights group.

One man lay dead in his car while a woman screamed "shameless", they said, after a man in Sanandaj was shot by security forces after honking his horn to show support to the protests.

Security forces continue to deny using live ammunition on the protesters.