According to received reports, on January 19, the funeral ceremony of Alireza Khaledi, one of those killed in the recent protests, was held in the city of Lordegan in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in western Iran. Alireza Khaledi lost his life as a result of gunfire by Iranian regime security forces. The ceremony was attended by a large crowd and turned into a scene of public anger and protest.
Participants in the funeral ceremony chanted “Death to Khamenei,” referring to Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran’s regime, to voice their protest against the ruling authorities and those responsible for killing protesters. These chants turned the ceremony into a platform against state repression and violence.
Nationwide internet shutdown surpasses 330 hours
As protests continued, NetBlocks, an international organization that monitors internet traffic and digital disruptions worldwide, announced on Thursday, January 22, that the nationwide internet shutdown in Iran had exceeded 330 hours. According to the organization, this measure was carried out with the aim of “concealing repression and killings.”
In its report, NetBlocks emphasized that despite claims by Iranian regime officials about the gradual restoration of internet access, public connectivity remains severely restricted, with only a limited group of users and selected gateways able to connect. The organization also warned, based on traffic analysis of certain platforms, that the authorities may be experimentally moving toward implementing a “whitelist internet,” an approach that further restricts citizens’ free access to the global internet.