Iranian State TV Suddenly Interrupted, Displays Ominous Message for World to See
Anti-Iranian government protesters hacked the government’s state broadcaster on Saturday.
The hackers, a group known as Edalate Ali, posted an ominous message directed at Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which was broadcasted for all of Iran to see.
Protests, riots and general unrest have swept through the Middle Eastern country since the Sept. 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
The young Iranian was detained by the country’s morality police for wearing “inappropriate attire,” Reuters reported.
Iranian authorities claim the 22-year-old died of a heart attack. However, her family claims Amini had no heart problems. Reports alleged she was beaten to death while in custody.
Weeks later, Edalate Ali reminded the Supreme Leader of the young woman’s death. Some dark imagery accompanied that reminder.
According to Sky News, the hackers posted an image of Khamenei with flames all around him and a target on his head. Under the ominous depiction were pictures of Amini and three other women allegedly killed during the protests.
#BREAKING The Edalat-e Ali hacktivist group hacked the Iranian state TV’s live news broadcast, displaying a photo of Khamenei with the verse “The Blood of Our Youths Is on Your Hands” along with photos of #MahsaAmini and three other girls killed in #IranProtests. pic.twitter.com/dYM7flUBQt
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) October 8, 2022
In the background of the video, “Woman, Life, Freedom,” the “signature slogan” of the Iranian protests, could be heard playing in the background.
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Edalate Ali has a history of standing up to Iran’s leaders. According to Sky News, in 2021, the group exposed the abuse of political prisoners by releasing video taken from hacked security cameras.
Over the course of the past week, the situation in Iran has continued to escalate.
A Saturday report released by Iran Human Rights, a non-profit based in Norway, revealed at least 185 individuals have been killed during the ongoing protests.
Nineteen of those dead are reportedly children.
In addition, as of Sept. 29, as many as 28 journalists had reportedly been arrested by the country’s government amid the protests, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
On Monday, Khamenei commented on the death of Amini. According to Reuters, the Iranian leader claimed her death was provoked by Iran’s enemies, describing it as a “bitter incident” that “deeply broke” his heart.
In response, protesters again took to the streets across Iran, this time chanting two phrases: “We want regime change” and “death to Khamenei.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
