Protests grow in Iran over tower’s collapse
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran disrupted internet access to the outside world as angry demonstrators rallied over the collapse of a tower that killed at least 36 people, experts said Tuesday as anger and grief continued to grow in the country.
The disruption has plunged the southwestern province into digital isolation, making it difficult for journalists to authenticate events on the ground and for activists to share footage and organize protests.
The internet interference in the oil-rich Khuzestan province started in early May, weeks before the fatal collapse, said Amir Rashidi, director of internet security and digital rights at Miaan Group, which focuses on digital security in the Middle East.
Disruptions then intensified in the area after the Metropol Building collapse last week, according to data shared by the Miaan Group.
The disaster ignited anger in Abadan, where residents alleging government negligence gathered nightly at the site of the collapse to shout slogans against the Islamic Republic.
Videos of the protests have circulated widely online, with some showing officers clubbing and firing tear gas at demonstrators. The number of casualties and arrests remains unclear.
The footage analyzed by The Associated Press corresponded to known features of Abadan, some 410 miles southwest of Tehran. The number of casualties and arrests remains unclear.
In response to the protests, Iranian authorities at times completely shut down the internet and other times allowed only tightly controlled use of a domestic Intranet, the Miaan Group reported.
During the day, authorities also appear to have restricted bandwidths to make it very difficult for people to share large files, such as video, without leaving Abadan altogether, said Mahsa Alimardani, a senior researcher at Article 19, an international organization that fights censorship.
Only certain government-approved national websites could stream content but not websites based abroad. The Iranian mission at the United Nations did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Meanwhile, rescue workers pulled another body from the rubble on Tuesday, bringing the death toll to 34 amid fears more people could be trapped in the ruins. Five of the victims were school-age children, the official IRNA news agency reported. Another 37 people were injured in the collapse, with two still hospitalized.
Officials have blamed the building’s structural failure on shoddy construction practices, lax regulation and entrenched corruption, raising questions about the safety of similar towers in the earthquake-prone country. Authorities reported they evacuated residents from buildings near the disaster site, fearing structural damage.