In the wake of the rising worldwide protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, Iran’s state-run live television broadcast suffered a cyberattack on October 8. As per reports, the hackers interrupted the broadcast and displayed an image of a mask followed by a picture of Supreme leader Ali Khamenei. The attack was to show solidarity with the citizens of Iran fighting against the brutality of the government and the moral police.
What showed on the screen
In the alleged hacking incident, the news channel displayed a mask and an image of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei with flames on his body. The hackers called themselves ‘Adalat Ali’. The Arabic word ‘Adalat’ means the court, and ‘Ali’ means high. The term likely symbolized the law of God.
The image of the Supreme Leader also showed a red circular target frame reflecting that he was being aimed at. Photos of some of the other women targeted by the government, such as Nika Shahkarami, Hadis Najafi, Mahsa Amini and Sarini Esmailzadeh, were also displayed on the channel.
A chant in Farsi also played during the interruption and said, “Women, life, and freedom”. More text with Khamenei’s image read, “Join us and rise up. The blood of our youths is on your hands.” As per reports, the hacktivist group Edalat-e Ali was behind the attack.
Other hackers, including Anonymous have also shown solidarity with the movement against the government’s cruelty. In an earlier attack, the group exfiltrated parliament members’ data.
Mahsa Amini
The death of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini sparked global protests. Amini was pulled into the Iranian ‘morality police’ vehicle in the country’s capital Tehran because she was not wearing her head scarf ‘hijab’ properly. She died three days after her arrest.
While the government said that she died due to her illness and sudden heart failure, her family and protestors denied these reports and accused the police of killing Amini, triggering nationwide protests.
What the Supreme Leader said
The United Nations defines human rights as inherent to all human beings, regardless of nationality or religion. It further states that these include the right to life, liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, and freedom of expression, which everyone is entitled to without discrimination. It is time the fast-progressing nation of Iran adapts to the laws of human rights and relaxes its laws.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei expressed his grief about the death of Mahsa Amini and called the incident “sad” that had left him and the country heartbroken.
