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description=Amnesty International’s investigation reveals how internet shutdowns helped hide the killing of more than 300 people in Iran in 2019. See the investigation and help stop internet shutdowns.;
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o the islamic republic system and burned posters of iran s current and former supreme leaders scores of videos of the protests and state violence against the protesters appeared online which amnesty international s digital verification corps subsequently authenticated and analyzed speaking on state television on 16 november iran s interior minister abdolreza rahmani fazli said that iranian security forces would fulfil their duty to restore calm if attacks on public and individuals properties continue amnesty international s research shows that 16 november was the bloodiest known day of the protests with at least 100 unarmed protesters and bystanders including children killed under international human rights law security forces may only resort to the use of lethal force when strictly unavoidable to protect against imminent threat of death or serious injury killings resulting from the authorities use of deadly force against protesters in violation of international law and standards constitute an arbitrary deprivation of life in violation of the right to life and can also amount to extrajudicial executions which are crimes under international law videos from social media and messaging apps show extensive state violence against protesters sources ioda amnesty international acled as protests intensified in most cities across the country the iranian authorities ordered different internet service providers isps to shut down the internet achieving a near total countrywide blackout the internet outage detection and analysis ioda project based at the university of california san diego observed steady drops in signals which started in the afternoon cellular operators in iran began to disconnect first at around 2 pm local time followed by other operators by 7 pm on 16 november iran had descended into darkness iran s domestic internet remained online according to the freedom of expression ngo article 19 this enabled activities such as banking and government services to continue which minimized financial losses and kept the government functional iran s security forces repeatedly used firearms water cannons and tear gas against unarmed protesters and bystanders source amnesty international the iranian authorities will no longer show tolerance and self control toward the protesters said the county s interior minister abdolreza rahmani fazli on 16 november a day later iran s supreme leader ali khamenei labelled protesters evil doers hatemongers and unscrupulous people and ordered the iranian security services to implement their duties to end the protests internet shutdown in iran as observed by ioda source ioda five days later at 10 am local time on 21 november ioda documented a spike in their measurements showing signs of recovery the internet was being gradually restored according to article 19 many of the cellular data providers did not come back online until 27 november an unknown amount of evidence of crimes and serious human rights violations was lost as a result of the shutdown witnesses told amnesty international that they had deleted evidence of crimes from their mobile phones fearing that iranian security forces would arrest detain and prosecute them if they found such content what is an internet shutdown an internet shutdown happens when an institution usually a government intentionally disrupts the internet or electronic communications rendering them inaccessible or effectively unusable for a specific population or within a specific region an internet shutdown can be implemented across an entire state or territory or it can be implemented in specific sub regions authorities may impose the shutdown in a variety of ways they may slow down the internet to render access ineffective such as what indian authorities have done in jammu and kashmir since march 2020 alternatively they may order cellular and other isps to shut down services as was the case in sudan in 2019 in iran the shutdown was implemented nationwide by the government ordering different providers to shut down access to the world wide web even as the domestic internet remained online part 2 uncovering the killings on 19 november 2019 amnesty international released evidence that the iranian security forces were using lethal force against protesters and that at least 106 people had been killed the iranian authorities immediately rebuffed this calling amnesty international s claims baseless and fabricated iran s mission to the united nations said amnesty international was leading a disinformation campaign against iran from outside the country killings hidden from the world after thousands of hours of relentless fact finding amnesty international has since recorded and verified the deaths of 323 people killed by the iranian security services between 15 and 19 november 2019 our investigation published in may 2020 found that more than 237 of these deaths took place within 48 hours of the internet shutting down on 16 november in the absence of online documentation during the shutdown amnesty international received information from human rights activists and journalists to verify and add to these reports we interviewed family members and friends medical workers and eyewitnesses among others our researchers also cross checked funeral posters gravesites death certificates and local media reports the result is a detailed record of the killings the internet shutdown tried to hide from the world and the iranian authorities continue to deny of the 323 men women and children whose deaths amnesty international has been able to verify 257 were identified by first and last name for six other victims we were able to obtain either the first or last name for most victims we know their age and gender in addition to where and when they were fatally injured for almost half we know the bodily injuries they sustained based on photographs burial and death certificates fact finding was significantly impeded by the absence of information sharing during the days of the internet shutdown while amnesty international was able to verify 323 victims we believe the real number of deaths to be higher most deaths took place on 16 november the day iranian authorities shut down the internet on 16 novemeber 2021 amnesty international updated the number of recorded victims from 304 to 323 see the downloadable spreadsheet below for the updated dataset source amnesty international ioda lives loved ones lost at least 22 of those killed were children below the age of 18 one of the youngest victims mohammad dastankhah was shot on his way home from school by security forces stationed on the roof a base belonging to the basij paramilitary force in sadra fars mohammad s death certificate states that he died of gunshot wounds that caused extensive internal bleeding and pierced his heart and lung he was 15 years old eyewitness accounts and video footage verified by our digital verification corps confirm that on 16 november security forces shot at unarmed protesters and bystanders with live ammunition from this location in total amnesty international documented the deaths of 21 boys aged between 12 and 17 and one was a girl reportedly aged between eight and 12 the number of children killed is very likely to be higher mohammad dastankhah of the 323 victims for which amnesty international has obtained information 241 were identified as men and 10 as women in 30 cases the sex and age of those killed remain unknown to amnesty international security forces shot dead azar mirzapour a 49 year old nurse and mother of four on 16 november in the city of karaj alborz province on her way home from work she called her children to say she was minutes away but the streets were busy because of the ongoing protests her family never saw or heard from her again they searched for her at several police stations initially suspecting that she was arrested after about two days they discovered her name in a list at a mortuary the iranian authorities forced her family to sign a statement not to speak to the media following azar mirzapour s funeral her family tried in vain to seek information from various state bodies about the circumstances of her killing and those responsible one prosecution official denied that security forces were responsible while a police official accused her of being a rioter whose destiny was to be killed azar mirzapour bahman jafari 28 was on his way to work in shiraz fars province when security forces shot him at 9 am on 17 november he died in an ambulance before reaching the hospital hospital staff told his family that his body had been taken to the legal medicine organization a state forensic institute supervised by the judiciary the authorities only released his body to his family a week later after they signed an agreement to tell people that he died in a car accident and not to speak to the media the authorities blocked his burial in central shiraz instead forcing them to bury him in a cemetery around 40 kilometres away they only allowed immediate family members to attend the funeral where security and intelligence officials harassed and intimidated mourners the authorities also banned his family from holding a public memorial marking the 40th day of his death bahman ja fari the lethal force used and covered up by the communication blackout cannot be justified according to our extensive research including video analysis in almost all protests that took place between 15 and 19 november there is no evidence that protesters posed an imminent threat to life or of causing serious injury to another person as such the use of firearms by the authorities was completely unwarranted information obtained from eyewitnesses suggested that in most cases security forces deliberately fired live ammunition at victims heads or torsos this claim is supported by the description of injuries cited on 35 death or burial certificates seen by amnesty international overall for nearly half of the victims 153 we were able to corroborate the types of fatal injuries they sustained in at least 70 cases victims were shot in their head and or neck and in at least 52 cases in their chest and or heart what international human rights law says about the right to life what international human rights law says about the right to life the right to life is protected by international and regional treaties customary international law and domestic legal systems states have a clear duty to respect the right to life not only does this provide that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of life but it also requires that effective remedies and reparation are provided to all victims of violations of the right to life in their general comment 36 on the right to life the un human rights committee stipulate that states are expected to put in place measures for mandatory reporting review and investigation of lethal incidents and other life threatening incidents it goes on to set out a duty on states to establish by law adequate institutions and procedures for preventing deprivation of life investigating and prosecuting potential cases of unlawful deprivation of life meting out punishment and providing full reparation the committee provide that 27 an important element of the protection afforded to the right to life by the covenant is the obligation on the states parties where they know or should have known of potentially unlawful deprivations of life to investigate and where appropriate prosecute the perpetrators of such incidents including incidents involving allegations of excessive use of force with lethal consequences the duty to investigate also arises in circumstances in which a serious risk of deprivation of life was caused by the use of potentially lethal force even if the risk did not materialize this obligation is implicit in the obligation to protect and is reinforced by the general duty to ensure the rights recognized in the covenant and the duty to provide an effective remedy to victims of human rights violations and their relatives investigations and prosecutions of potentially unlawful deprivations of life should be undertaken in accordance with relevant international standards and must be aimed at ensuring that those responsible are brought to justice at promoting accountability and preventing impunity at avoiding denial of justice and at drawing necessary lessons for revising practices and policies with a view to avoiding repeated violations the general comment provides that investigations must be independent impartial prompt thorough effective credible and transparent reparations must be provided if a violation is found which are to include adequate measures of compensation rehabilitation and satisfaction in addition measures must be put in place to stop reoccurrence of violations it is crucial that such investigations examine command responsibility and so the actions of superior officers that could have resulted in loss of life part 3 why internet shutdowns are a human rights issue threats to digital expression and internet freedom are more pronounced than ever internet shutdowns have emerged as a popular means of information control the human rights council resolution 32 13 the ability of people to access communication technologies in a secure and private manner has become vital for the organization and conduct of peaceful assemblies and is an essential tool for effective human rights work imposing internet shutdowns and restrictions when people are protesting does not increase safety and security rather it stops important information from reaching citizens such as how to find areas of safety or contact emergency services it also prevents international and local organisations from documenting human rights violations such as killings or the disproportionate use of force by the police or military activities such as organising protests speaking freely against government policies and documenting and disseminating information on human rights violations all rely on the ability to access the internet such activities are protected under international human rights law which also guards against unjustified internet shutdowns what international human rights law says about internet shutdowns what international human rights law says about internet shutdowns articles 19 and 21 of the international covenant on civil and political rights guarantee the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly states parties must not block or hinder internet connectivity in relation to peaceful assemblies or to curb freedom of expression the same applies to geo targeted or technology specific interference with connectivity or access to content states should ensure that the activities of internet service providers and intermediaries do not unduly restrict assemblies or the privacy of assembly participants any restrictions on the operation of information dissemination systems must conform with the tests for restrictions on freedom of expression notably they should b...