Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi warned that authorities in Tehran may carry out a mass killing under cover of a sweeping communications blackout, urging Western governments to speak out immediately.
“Tonight, I am compelled to speak with urgency," she said in a statement released on Friday. "There are credible indications that the Islamic Republic may attempt to turn this night into a massacre, under cover of a sweeping communications blackout.”
“Iranians have come into the streets peacefully. They have been met with gunfire," she added. "A blackout is not a technical failure in Iran; it is a tactic.”
Addressing Western governments and international institutions, Ebadi said silence would amount to permission, calling for immediate public pressure to halt live fire against civilians, protect hospitals and restore communications.
At least 51 protesters, including nine children, have been killed during Iran’s latest wave of nationwide unrest, according to figures released on Friday by the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization, as authorities imposed a total internet blackout.
