Live Blog: First Public Trial Of Protesters Begins In Iran

We are now closing the live blog for today, but we will be back again tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. CET to follow all the latest developments in Iran.

Elahe Mohammadi, a reporter for the Ham-Mihan newspaper, wrote in a post on X on January 20, that "for a day or two now, our VPNs only work sporadically -- maybe half an hour to an hour a day --and we manage to connect to the Internet. We're posting to say that we're alive."

Mohammadi added: "The city smells of death. In all my life, I had never seen it snow in Tehran without even a single person smiling."

Ham-Mihan was suspended by the Iranian authorities on January 19 after 3 1/2 years of operation. Mohammadi spoke of the difficulty in covering the brutal crackdown on protests that took over the country in recent weeks, particularly in light of the government blocking access to the Internet and communications with the outside world.

SEE ALSO:

Iran Is Still Offline. Will Access To The Global Internet Ever Be Restored?

"Throughout these past days, we tried to write about the dead and the wounded. About Malekshahi; about Behesht-e Zahra, Kahrizak, and the eyes waiting for the bodies of their loved ones; about the hospitals, the nurses, and doctors who witnessed the catastrophe with their own eyes, who cried and did everything they could."

"Hard days have passed and everyone is stunned; the country is in mourning, the country is choked with grief, the country is heavy-hearted."

According to a report on January 20 by the watchdog NetBlocks, Iran's Internet had been down for more than 280 hours. Officials in the Islamic republic have claimed the Internet is gradually returning, but only a few people have been able to connect.

Government-affiliated media outlets -- particularly those close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps -- continued to have access to the Internet during the blackout that affected Iran's 90 million people. During days of severe repression and the killing of thousands of protesters, they published narratives and accusations by security and military institutions calling the protesters "terrorists."

Mohammadi was arrested on September 22, 2022, after covering the funeral of Mahsa Amini in Saqqez, Iran. She was tried in court on charges including "collaborating with the hostile US government," "gathering and colluding to commit a crime against national security," and "propaganda activity against the regime," and sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison. Her case was closed in February of last year.

The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen proposed on January 20 that a further ban be imposed on the export of drone and missile technology to Iran following the bloody crackdown on protesters in the Islamic republic.

Von der Leyen wrote on the social network X: "Europe stands in full solidarity with the brave women and men of Iran who are risking their lives to demand freedom for themselves and future generations."

She continued: "The EU has already imposed far-reaching sanctions on Iran for human rights abuses, nuclear proliferation, and its support for Russia's war against Ukraine," adding, "Today, we are proposing to ban additional exports of critical drone and missile technologies."

Von der Leyen stated that, together with EU foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas, the EU is "also preparing new sanctions in response to the regime's continued and brutal repression of protesters."

Iranians are living through one of the longest Internet shutdowns in history, with the authorities imposing a digital blackout since launching a bloody crackdown on antiestablishment protesters on January 8.

While the authorities have quelled the weekslong demonstrations against Iran's clerical rulers with the use of unprecedented brute force, it remains unclear when they will restore access to the Internet.

Even when services resume, Iranians could be permanently cut off from the global Internet as the authorities force its citizens to use a domestically designed "intranet," which works independently from the world's Internet, digital experts warn.

To read the rest of the report by RFE/RL's Kian Sharifi, click here.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on January 20 that Moscow ‍sees ‍no reason to stop trading with Iran, despite the threat of US sanctions.

On January 12, US President Donald Trump announced that any country doing business with Iran would face 25 percent tariffs on its trade with the United States.

The United States already imposes extensive trade sanctions on Russia, particularly since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Last week, Lavrov said relations between Moscow and Tehran are based on agreements between the presidents of the two countries and "the United States cannot influence it."

Lavrov pointed to projects such as the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and the North-South Transport Corridor as examples of its cooperation with Iran and emphasized that Russia will continue to implement these agreements.

In recent years, Iran and Russia have expanded their economic and military ties, including Tehran providing Moscow with military drones for its war in Ukraine.

Hillel Neuer, an international lawyer and executive director of UN Watch, told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqhchi on X that the organizers of the World Economic Forum in Davos canceled his appearance because he is "directly implicated in crimes against humanity against your own people."

On January 19, the World Economic Forum (WEF) announced it had canceled Araqhchi's invitation to the summit, saying, "The tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year."

Araqhchi hit back at the WEF, saying his invitation was withdrawn "on the basis of lies and political pressure from Israel."

Neuer attempted to put the record straight, telling Araqhchi on X that if he did come to Davos this week "a criminal complaint will be filed with Swiss prosecutors" due to what he claimed was Araqhchi's role in the "mass murder of thousands of protesters" in Iran.

Neuer and UN Watch regularly highlight abuses by regimes that often dominate UN forums.

On January 16, the Munich Security Conference (MSC) -- scheduled for February 13-15 -- withdrew its invitation to Araqhchi and other Iranian government representatives.

According to NetBlocks, an internet monitoring organization, "the nationwide internet shutdown in Iran has passed the 280-hour mark, and the country, with a population of over 90 million people, remains cut off from global communications for the 13th consecutive day."

In its latest report, NetBlocks also said on January 20 that a review of traffic from some restricted services and platforms suggests that the government may be experimentally moving toward "whitelist-based connectivity." Whitelisting is a type of internet censorship where authorities block access to the vast majority of the global internet, while selectively allowing a very limited number of approved websites, apps, and services.

The ongoing internet shutdown has caused widespread damage to Iran's digital economy. Reza Olfatsefat, secretary of the country's Internet Business Association, said the shutdown has already caused more than 400 trillion rials ($286 million) in financial losses to small and large businesses.

These developments come as Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian said in a cabinet meeting on January 18 that, given the need to support online businesses and ease restrictions on communication, he has recommended to Ali Larijani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, that internet restrictions be lifted as soon as possible.

However, Pezeshkian, who himself heads the Supreme National Security Council, has not said why he made recommendations instead of issuing direct orders to the responsible institutions.

Hanna Neumann, a German politician and head of an Iran delegation in the European Parliament, has announced that MEPs will discuss Iran on January 20 and, two days later, will vote on a resolution.

Neumann wrote on X that she will try to get the parliament to adopt clear demands on Iran that show "full solidarity with the protesters, condemn the regime's violent crackdown, [and] punish those responsible."

Neumann has also advocated for putting the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on the EU's terror list, freezing the assets of Iranian banks, providing Iranians at risk with emergency visas, and expelling diplomats.

The debate is expected to begin at 16:00 CET and can be streamed here.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi emphasized in a recent interview with the French newspaper Liberation that Iran's political system is "fundamentally irreparable" and structured in such a way that any effort to enact meaningful reforms from within is destined to fail.

In the interview, Ebadi says that the main obstacle to democracy and progress in Iran is the “position of the leadership.” In order to achieve real change, she said, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei must be “removed” from power.

The human rights activist and lawyer was the first Muslim woman and the first Iranian to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003.She has lived in the United Kingdom since 2009.

Ebadi criticized Western countries' approach to Iran, saying that "self-serving" policies and attempts to "compromise" with the regime have only served to perpetuate the status quo. Ebadi also called on the international community to stand with the Iranian people and increase pressure on the country's senior leadership.

Referring to the recent protests, Ebadi said that the Iranian people have outgrown the system and are now seeking to establish a secular government free from religion.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization (IHRNGO) which has been compiling information on the number of deaths during the recent unrest in Iran, says the available evidence "indicates that the number of protesters killed may exceed even the highest media estimates."

"There is no doubt that the Islamic Republic has committed one of the largest mass killings of protesters in our time." he added.

Moghaddam's comments came just hours after IHRNGO said that, given the magnitude of the killings in Iran and severe restrictions on communications, it would for the time being "refrain from issuing daily statistics until sufficient documentation has been obtained."