As videos flood internet, analysts say Iran crackdown ‘way harsher’ than past

Videos showing harrowing scenes of bleeding protesters, burning roadblocks and snipers on rooftops have emerged after Iran lifted a near-total internet blackout, opening a window onto what analysts say was one of Tehran’s bloodiest crackdowns.

This repression “was harsher” than during previous protests in Iran, Kamran Matin, senior lecturer in International Relations at Sussex University in Britain, tells AFP in Nicosia.

“All the videos I have seen from before the internet was shut down show that from the moment of the gathering of people to ‘shoot to kill’ was very short.”

Many videos from some of the estimated 100 areas where demonstrations erupted appear to show security forces firing at close range at unarmed demonstrators or beating them with batons.

Shaky footage shows bloodied people prone on the street, shouts and panicked screaming as others rush to their aid.

Crowds can be heard chanting slogans against the security apparatus and the ruling elite, venting frustrations over high inflation and unemployment.

— AFP