News Center- The nationwide protests that sparked in Iran and Rojhilat following the killing of Jina Mahsa Amini in custody have continued for eight months. The people of Sistan and Baluchestan Province have been suffering from internet shutdowns since the beginning of the protests. 23 human rights groups and four human rights activists, including Fariba Baloch and Shirin Ebadi, have released a written statement along with Keep It On, a global coalition fighting internet shutdowns around the world.

Condemning the frequent internet outages imposed by the Iranian authorities on the south-eastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, the statement said, “The restrictions not only violate freedom of expression but also serve to cover up human rights violations. For more than three months, the people of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province have been suffering from internet shutdowns every Friday. This ongoing disruption to the internet has resulted in significant challenges for the local community, who heavily rely on online communication for their daily activities.”

Zahedan residents have been holding protests every Friday since September 30, 2022, when security forces killed nearly 100 people.

Call on the ITU

Human rights groups and activists also called on the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to put pressure on Iran, saying, “The Iranian government has a well-documented record of using internet shutdowns to silence dissent and crackdown on protests across the country. We call on the International Telecommunication Union to put pressure on Iran to stop disrupting internet services in the region.”