Live news broadcast on Iranian television was hacked on Saturday
On Saturday, a live news broadcast on Iranian state television was hacked as a video of the country’s supreme leader was being aired, all while nationwide protests over the death of a young woman following her arrest continued.
The hackers displayed a picture of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Underneath was a photo of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested on September 13 by morality officers for allegedly violating the country’s strictly enforced Islamic dress code. She passed away three days later.
Her image was displayed on the live news broadcast alongside three other women who were killed during the unrest.
A caption read “Join us and stand up!” throughout the 15-second hack, along with text criticising Khamenei for their deaths. In the background, a song with the lyrics “Woman. Life. Freedom,” a popular protest chant, played.
Social media details for a group calling itself “Edalat Ali” or “Ali’s Justice” were also posted on the screen.
Several state-run Iranian media outlets reported on Sunday that similar hackings had occurred in the past.
Despite a harsh crackdown by Iranian authorities, the protests, which Iran’s leaders have attempted to characterise as a foreign plot, entered their fourth week on Sunday.
Demonstrations began on September 17 at the funeral of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in her hometown of Saqez and continued in several cities, including Tehran, Iran’s capital city, where hundreds of people took to the streets.
Police initially stated that Amini, an Iranian Kurd, died after becoming ill and entering a coma. However, according to a coroner’s report released on Friday, she died of multiple organ failure.
Her family claims that witnesses told them she was beaten by officers, which law enforcement officials deny.
