Protests in Iran: hackers made a target of the country's spiritual leader

Ivan Zubov

Over the weekend, an emergency occurred on Iranian state television: first, a mask appeared on the screen, and then an image of Iran's spiritual leader Ali Khamenei with a target on his face and flames around him, as well as photographs of girls who died during protests in the country. Khamenei's photo also featured an inscription reading: "The blood of our youth is on your hands", as well as a call to join the protest, the Iran International news channel reported. The video was several seconds long.

Recall that the protests in this country began in mid-September in connection with the death of a young girl, Mahsa Amini, who was beaten in a police station in one of the Iranian cities after being detained because of allegedly violating the law on the correct appearance of women.

It is known that after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, a law was passed in this country, according to which all women from the age of 9 are required to wear modest "Islamic" clothes: a veil, a mantle, a hijab covering the whole body. Compliance with the rules is monitored by the vice police, which evaluates the appearance of women and can impose a fine, prison term or flogging for non-compliance with the dress code.

After the death of Mahsa Amini, mass protests erupted first in the cities of Kurdistan province, where the girl was from, and later in other cities, including the capital Tehran. Protesters took to the streets and chanted anti-government slogans, women took off their hijabs, burned them and cut their hair. The security forces in response to this used tear gas and opened fire on people, reports the BBC.

The activist group Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice) claimed responsibility for the incident during the Saturday night newscast.