As the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini approaches, Iran’s government is keeping tight control over the country with surprise checkpoints, increased police presence on streets, sporadic internet outages and purges of university students and professors. The September 16 death of Amini after she was detained by the morality police over her hijab last year sparked a wave of protests in the country at a level which had been unseen for decades. More than 500 people were killed and over 22,000 detained as a result of the protests. Fueled also by economic pressure resulting from Western sanctions since 2018, the protests have been the greatest challenge to the country’s theocracy which took power in 1979. After a severe government crackdown, open protests have all but disappeared, however, some women still refuse to wear a hijab in defiance. At least 110 university professors have been fired and hundreds of students questioned over participation in the protests.
