Tehran, Iran – Several Iranian government and state media websites are down after a Twitter account linked to hacker group ‘Anonymous’ claimed to have launched cyber attacks against them, aimed at supporting protests following the death of Mahsa Amini . The 22-year-old woman from the northwestern province of Kurdistan died on Friday in Tehran after suffering a stroke and several heart attacks while in the custody of Iran’s so-called morality police for her “inappropriate” hijab, authorities and the state said. media. Iranian authorities have denied any allegations that Amini was mistreated or beaten and said she had pre-existing conditions that contributed to her death, but her family rejected the allegations. A video released early Wednesday showed footage of protests in several Iranian cities that have erupted since Amini’s death. “That was the final straw,” said the altered voice in the video, claiming to be from Anonymous, of Amini’s death. “The Iranian people are not alone.” It appears that the two main Iranian government websites were the main targets of the attacks. One is the government’s “smart services” website, offering a host of online services, and the other aims to publish government news and interviews with officials. “The entire database has been deleted,” claimed a social media account believed to be linked to Anonymous. The Iranian government has yet to officially comment on the allegations or the attacks. Several other websites, including the website of Iranian state television, were also attacked and were down for some time. The websites had crashed and recovered several times by Wednesday morning, indicating a struggle between hackers and website support. At least three people have been killed in the protests so far, according to Esmail Zarei Kousha, the governor of Kurdistan. The official, however, said the deaths were “suspicious” and appeared to be an attempt by “counter-revolutionary” groups to fan the flames of unrest across the country. Iran’s state media also reported Wednesday that protests over Amini’s death had spread to 15 cities across the country. The young woman’s death led to an outpouring of outrage in Iran and elsewhere, with videos showing women cutting off their hair in protest of Iran’s veil laws.
