CNN
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The father of an Iranian woman who died in police custody last week has accused authorities of lying about her death, as protests rage nationwide despite the government’s attempt to curb dissent with an internet blackout.
Amjad Amini, whose daughter Mahsa died after being arrested in Tehran by morality police, said doctors had refused to let him see his daughter after her death.
Iranian officials have claimed she died after suffering a “heart attack” and falling into a coma, but her family have said she had no pre-existing heart condition, according to Emtedad news, an Iranian pro-reform media outlet. Public skepticism over the officials’ account of her death has sparked an outpouring of anger that has spilled into deadly protests.
“They’re lying. They’re telling lies. Everything is 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 viewed his daughter’s body leading up to her funeral it was entirely wrapped except for her feet and face – though he noticed bruising on her feet. “I have no idea what they did to her,” he said.
CNN could not independently verify his 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 the morality police to receive “guidance” on her attire.
Her death has sparked an outpouring of anger that has snowballed to include issues ranging from freedoms in the Islamic Republic to the crippling economic impacts of sanctions.
Protests and deadly clashes with police have broken out in towns and cities across Iran, despite authorities’ attempts to curb the spread of demonstrations through internet blackouts.
Mobile networks have been largely shut down and access to Instagram and Whatsapp have been restricted, internet watchdog Netblocks said on Wednesday evening.
There was a near-total disruption to internet access in parts of Iran’s western Kurdistan province from Monday evening, and regional blackouts in other parts of the country including Sanandaj and Tehran.
This comes after Iran’s Minister of Communications warned that there could be internet disruptions “for security purposes 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 increased by as much as 300%.
At the time, Iran was taken almost entirely offline – which Oracle’s Internet Intelligence called the “largest internet shutdown ever observed in Iran.”
This week, several Iranian state government websites – including the official sites of the President and of Iran’s Central Bank – were also offline, with the hacker collective Anonymous claiming responsibility.
“(Greetings) Citizens of Iran. This is a message from Anonymous to all Iran. We are here and we are 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 stems not from vengeance, but from your longing for justice. All tyrants will fall before your courage. Long live free Iranian women.”
The hacker collective also took responsibility for temporarily taking down the website of Iran’s state media news agency Fars early Wednesday morning, according to a tweet from Anonymous. The website has since…
Read More: Mahsa Amini’s father says Iran authorities lied about her death, as protests rage