The Troubles in Iran
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The Troubles in Iran

Simon Phoenix
Simon Phoenix

ایرانیان عزیز، دنیا شاهد ‌ظلم، بی عدالتی و شکنجه هایی  که جمهوری اسلامی در حق شهروندان ایران انجام میده می باشد. با اتحاد، اعتماد و عشق همراه با صبر و ایمان به هدفتان، شما حتما پیروز این میدان خواهید بود. ما نیز برای حمایت از شما عزیزان بهترین کمکی از دستمان ساخته بود را ارائه می‌کنیم به عنوان ابزاری برای رسیدن شما به هدف پاکتان #ازادی

As many of you have probably heard, the citizens of Iran have recently been under renewed attack by their own government. Iranian citizens have suffered severe censorship and human rights violations under the purview of an authoritarian theocratic government since the late 1970s, but the level of internal discord has very recently hit a new high.

The Situation

Starting on September 14th, 2022, national level protests began to gain traction after the “mysterious” (read: suspected murder at the hands of religious police) death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old protester. Her crime? Improperly covering her head with a head scarf.

We understand that there are differing opinions on religious headwear and the punishments for breaking religious codes, but murder at the hands of authorities for "improperly" worn attire is a disproportionate punishment of fucking mind-blowing magnitude. The injustice was not lost on the Iranian populace.

The Public Backlash

Mere hours after news broke about her mistreatment, Iranian citizens of all socioeconomic backgrounds rallied around her death. Pressure has been mounting violently in many cities across the country.

Iranian communities worldwide have also joined in these protests, garnering thousands of supporters throughout Europe and North America.

The Authoritarian Crackdown

In typical authoritarian fashion, the Iranian government's response has been to shut down national access to the internet and deploy police troops to “maintain the peace.” Various specific services, like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Signal, Telegram and YouTube, have all cycled in and out of the Iranian government's ban list for some time.

Still, the last time the entire country was totally disconnected from the world was 2019.

Keep in mind Iran is one of the oldest civilizations in the world and has a highly educated population that is no stranger to protest. Many Iranians have been fighting back, attempting to circumvent internet restrictions by using VPNs - when they can find open connections to the internet - but even then, there are reports of connection and speed issues when using a state-run ISP.

Using VPNs in Iran

If you are presently located in Iran and require help connecting to the internet using Windscribe, don’t hesitate to contact support. Please keep in mind, however, that none of us speak Farsi (what can we say, nobody is perfect).

If you require additional bandwidth, you can download Windscribe on your desktop or mobile phone and use the code ABGOOSHT for 30GB of data.

If you are having trouble accessing the download page, there are plenty of mirrors and file sharing hosts that you can find through your favorite search engine (we recommend DuckDuckGo).

If you are located outside of Iran, we humbly request that you don’t use the code (you probably still will, but it is worth an ask); instead, spread it to anyone you know in Iran.

This code is not permanent, and the extra free data will be removed from the account in the future.

Signal Proxies - Help Spread the Word

Internal communication is one of the most essential factors for organizing, protesting, and maintaining safety during civil unrest. For the time being, apps like Signal and Telegram have been instrumental in keeping these lines open - but the Iranian government has been actively cracking down on these encrypted chat apps.

In response, Iranian users have asked the internet for new Signal proxies to circumvent the shutdowns. Windscribe has created a few proxies for this express purpose, and we are releasing one publicly to be shared on social media. Should it go down or cease to work, we will steadily release new ones (we have a bunch ready to go).

We are asking our users, lovers, haters, and everyone who wants to help to spread this to as many Iranian users as possible; let's help provide secure communication to the Iranian public!

Turkey Signal Proxy

https://signal.tube/#0644f36738c0ebc11bb0c5cf7f0415b757eab0c5.com

Domain

0644f36738c0ebc11bb0c5cf7f0415b757eab0c5.com

To use this proxy in the Signal app, you can follow these directions from the Signal website.

Moving Forward

We know that our help may be a drop in the bucket considering how much the Iranian population is physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually suffering at the moment. But it’s something, and something is better than nothing.

Though the civil unrest continues, we support all of you fighting for your right to exist peacefully and hope that you and your families remain safe despite the violence.

If there are any other ways we can help, don't hesitate to reach out and let us know, and we will do what we can.


Simon Phoenix
Simon Phoenix