Iranian authorities have accused the West of fomenting protests and , in this context, the young Italian may have been arrested on suspicion of being a foreign agent. In reality, the girl is a digital nomad who has been traveling around the world for seven years thanks to her work remotely from her, documenting every step of her in her travel blog. The alarm was raised by the father, with a post on Facebook reported by Agi, and the Farnesina is already working to verify the news and to have Piperno released, who was able to communicate with the family with a phone call.
Protests in Iran
The anti-government protests began during the funeral of 22-year-old Masha Amini last September 17, and have since become the largest opposition movement to the regime in recent years. More than 100 people seem to have been killed during the demonstrations, but the repression has not stopped the continuing popular uprisings.Iran Human Rights, a Norwegian-based group, said in a statement that "133 people have been killed so far across Iran" including more than 40 reportedly killed in last week's clashes in Zahedan , capital of the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan. The Iranian authorities did not provide a precise death toll, although they said that many members of the security forces were killed by "rioters and thugs supported by foreign enemies". Last week, state television reported 41 dead, including members of the security forces, according to Reuters.
In addition to the dead, thousands have been arrested, while the regime has blocked access to the internet and major social networking platforms and messaging applications, a well-established practice in autocracies when unrest occurs. Despite this, the protests do not seem to abate and the latest unrest has involved the major universities in the country. On October 2, students and professors occupied Sharif University in Tehran, where they were attacked by Basij paramilitary militias, who used rubber bullets, tear gas and indiscriminately arrested anyone they managed to capture.