CNN –
The father of an Iranian woman who died in police custody last week has accused authorities of lying about her death as protests rage across the country despite the government’s attempt to curb dissent with an internet outage.
Amjad Amini, whose daughter Mahsa died after being arrested in Tehran by moral police, said doctors had refused to let him see his daughter after her death.
Iranian officials have said he died after suffering a “heart attack” and falling into a coma, but his family has said he had no pre-existing heart disease, according to Emtedad News, a pro-reform Iranian media outlet. Public skepticism about the officials’ account of his death has sparked anger that has turned into deadly protests.
“They are lying. They are telling lies. It’s all a lie… no matter how much I begged, they wouldn’t let me see my daughter,” Amjad Amini told BBC Persia on Wednesday.
When he saw his daughter’s body before her funeral, it was completely covered except for her feet and face, although he noticed bruises on her feet. “I have no idea what they did to him,” she said.
CNN was unable to independently verify her account with hospital officials.
CCTV footage released by Iran’s state media showed Mahsa Amini collapsing at a “re-education” center where she was taken by morality police for “guidance” on her dress.
His death has sparked outrage that has snowballed to include issues ranging from freedoms in the Islamic Republic to the economic impact of sanctions.
Protests and deadly clashes with police have erupted in towns and cities across Iran, despite attempts by authorities to slow the spread of the demonstrations through internet blackouts.
Mobile networks have been largely shut down and access to Instagram and Whatsapp has been restricted, internet watchdog Netblocks said on Wednesday evening.
There was a near-total disruption of internet access in parts of Iran’s western Kurdistan province as of Monday evening, and regional outages in other parts of the country, including Sanandaj and Tehran.
This comes after Iran’s communications minister warned that there could be internet outages “due to security reasons and discussions related to recent events”, according to the country’s semi-official ISNA news agency.
The last time Iran saw such a severe blackout was when authorities tried to contain mass protests in late 2019, after fuel prices rose by as much as 300%.
At the time, Iran was almost completely taken offline, which Oracle’s Internet Intelligence called the “largest Internet shutdown ever seen in Iran.”
Several Iranian state government websites, including the official sites of the president and the Central Bank of Iran, were also offline this week, with the hacker collective Anonymous claiming responsibility.
“(Greetings) Citizens of Iran. This is a message from Anonymous to all of Iran. We are here and we stand with you,” a social media account affiliated with the group 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 your longing for justice. All tyrants will fall before your courage. Long live free Iranian women” .
The hacker collective also claimed responsibility for temporarily taking down the website of Iran’s state news agency Fars earlier this morning, according to a tweet from Anonymous. The website has since been brought back online.
Violent crackdown does not stop protest against Iran’s moral policing
At least eight people, including a teenager, have died in recent days in clashes at the protests, according to human rights group Amnesty International.
At least four of those eight “died from wounds inflicted by security forces firing metal pellets at close range,” Amnesty said in a report released on Wednesday.
Four other people were shot dead by security forces, Amnesty said, citing sources in Iran. He added that eyewitness accounts and video analysis show a pattern of “Iranian security forces illegally and repeatedly firing metal pellets directly at protesters.”
Riot police were deployed to disperse protesters on Wednesday night in the capital, Tehran, and several people were arrested, according to eyewitnesses who did not want to be named for security reasons.
Riot police deployed tear gas, with a “harsh crackdown” near Tehran University, an eyewitness said.
Another eyewitness in the city’s eastern district 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 Amini .
Videos of the protests across the country show people destroying posters of the Supreme Leader and women burning their hijabs and cutting their hair in a symbolic show of defiance.
CNN has reached out to police and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which joined riot police in Tehran on Wednesday night, for comment. They have not made any statement about the demonstrations or about the management of the protests by the forces of order.
Activists and international leaders have also expressed concern about the protests and alleged police violence.
Sweden’s foreign minister said Wednesday that Sweden stands by Iranians mourning Amini and demanded that authorities respect their right to peaceful protest. Germany also called on Iranian authorities to “allow peaceful demonstrations and above all not to use any more violence” during a press conference on Wednesday.
UK Foreign Secretary Tariq Ahmad said the UK 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 other members of Iranian society, is totally unjustifiable,” the statement said.