Iranians around the world plan to hold a tweetstorm later on Tuesday demanding freedom of access to the internet in Iran, as anti-regime protests continue unabated for the fifth day and the regime continues to keep the internet shut down in Iran.

The tweetstorm will take place at 9 pm European time, 3 pm Eastern standard time, with the hashtag #Internet4Iran.

The event will call on the international community to support protesters by providing internet access to the people of Iran.

According to NetBlocks, an organization that monitors freedom of the internet, 65 hours after Iran implemented a near-total internet shutdown, some of the last remaining networks are now being cut and connectivity to the outside world has fallen further to 4 percent of normal levels.

Network data from the NetBlocks internet observatory confirm disruptions with multiple fixed-line and mobile providers in Iran, as protests continue against the regime.

The outages have near-total impacts affecting multiple cities including Tehran.

Users first reported outages in Mashhad, which has also seen a drop in connectivity beginning on the evening of November 15, NetBlocks reported. The disruptions have increased in extent and severity as of 21:15 UTC Friday (12:45 a.m. local time), continuing as of 00:00 UTC Saturday, with impact also visible on overall connectivity charts.

Iran’s largest mobile network operators including MCI, Rightel, and IranCell subsequently fell offline as of 6:00 pm (14:30 UTC) Saturday amid worsening internet shutdowns as the protests intensified.

On Monday, November 18, United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday told a press conference: “The Islamic Republic must cease violence against its own people and should immediately restore the ability of all Iranians to access a free and open Internet. The world is watching.”

On Tuesday, November 19, the Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, said: “We also call on the Government to immediately re-establish Iranians’ access to the internet, as well as other forms of communication, which allow for freedom of expression and access to information.”

More than 200 protesters have been killed during the Iranian people’s nationwide uprising which began on Friday, based on a tally compiled by the sources of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), or Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK), in Iran. Thousands more have been wounded. On November 17, 2019, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said 1,000 protesters had been arrested, though the actual number is much higher.

Iranian opposition leader Maryam Rajavi on Monday called on the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to brief the Security Council about the atrocities perpetrated by the religious dictatorship ruling Iran, its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and the IRGC, in view of the rising number of those killed and wounded. Mrs. Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), urged him to convene an extraordinary session of the Council.

Silence regarding crimes against humanity perpetrated in Iran every day is absolutely unacceptable, Mrs. Rajavi underscored, adding that the Security Council must declare the regime and its leaders responsible for the crime against humanity for which they must face justice.

The martyrs of the uprising are mostly young adults and teenagers, many of them shot in the head and chest. The actual number of those killed in the protests is believed to be much higher. The regime is using an assortment of ploys to conceal the true figure.

Source » ncr-iran