“Death dust everywhere.” This Persian expression is being constantly repeated by Iranians to describe the atmosphere that has prevailed across the country following the bloody crackdown on the latest wave of protests. It reflects a sense of depression and of suffocating heaviness, as if all life and vitality had been crushed. Internet access has remained cut off for the most part since January 8, the date of mass demonstrations against the Islamic Republic, which authorities responded to by firing live ammunition at protesters.

Recently, however, technical glitches have enabled a growing number of Iranians to briefly connect to the internet using VPNs, which has allowed them to grasp the scale of the repression by the Iranian regime – which is entirely unmatched compared to previous waves.

“I have absolutely no control over my psychological state. I have been doing very badly since I saw the photos and videos of the lifeless bodies in various morgues and the faces of the young people killed in recent days,” wrote a graphic designer from Tehran to Le Monde on Monday, January 26. “I can no longer fall asleep. I see these images over and over and realize that it was completely different from everything we had heard. What hell they have created,” continued the 46-year-old, who had protested in the capital on January 8.

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