♪ brent: this is "ukraine hit by more russian airstrikes. having struck the capital of the targets in the odessa regions, leaving some areas completely without power. also on the program, the niece of the iranian supreme leader condemns his regime as nationwide antigovernment

protests continue. she is one of thousands of protesters being held in detention. and a giant aquarium bursts in berlin, releasing one million liters of water and devastating a downtown hotel. it had been home to 1500 tropical fish. ♪ i'm phil gayle, welcome to the program. authorities in ukraine say that russia has launched another major missile attack on energy facilities and infrastructure. witnesses cited by reuters say that at least three explosions struck key -- kiev and a number of areas have been left without power. the latest strike comes as ukrainian military civilian

leaders warned that the kremlin is preparing for a new widespread offensive as early as january. >> ukrainian infrastructure coming under almost daily bombardments with rockets severely damaging a warehouse in the northeastern city of harkey, with investigators and warm cry -- war crime prosecutors on site soon after to inspect damage and collect evidence. >> russia conducts strikes on civilian infrastructure, as you see. the warehouse was completely empty. there was no connection to the military whatsoever. >> in southern ukraine and a liberated city, emergency teams do their best to tackle a fire after more shelling. according to officials, the city is now completely without power

and for those who remain, life is a daily struggle. after nearly 10 months, the u.n. high commission is warning that more strikes could lead to a further serious deterioration in the humanitarian situation. >> including energy facilities and hydroelectric power stations exposing millions of civilians, especially persons in situations of vulnerability, to extreme hardship in the winter months. over 10 million consumers are facing cuts in electricity and millions are cut off from the regular supply of water and heat. >> russia has rejected a proposal of a christmas truce, occupying officials blaming ukraine for the attack. an apartment building in a hospital among the buildings damaged in the shelling.

a senior ukrainian military general now says russia is digging in for a long war in ukraine and still wants to conquer the entire country. >> the kremlin realizes that in the short term it's impossible to achieve victory. thus it is seeking to turn the conflict into a prolonged armed confrontation aimed at exhausting ukraine and our partners. >> there are now concerns that any new russian assault could come from belarus, whose armed forces continue to hold combat readiness drills close to the border with ukraine. phil: let's get more from our defense and security journalists . welcome to dw. let's start with today's attacks on the civilian infrastructure. this part of a continuing russian strategy. how successful would you say this has been? >> ukrainians have been pretty

good with air defense and if the numbers they give are even approximately correct, they managed to shoot down a lot of the cruise missiles and rockets. but still, a certain percentage come through and as we have seen in recent days and weeks, even when it's only 10%, 20%, that's still enough to wreak havoc on the energy grid and these energy systems. phil: and what is the thinking here, just to try to grind down the civilian population while the shooting continues elsewhere? >> quite obviously. actually, we have two wars going on here. one is a traditional war on the front line in the east and south , with trenches, with artillery, with tanks and all the classical warfare, you might say. and we have these air attacks, cruise missiles, rockets on civilian infrastructure to

remove the possibility for the civilians to live their lives. phil: let's turn to the element of military assistance that ukraine is receiving that doesn't get talked about a lot. that's training. the british have been training ukrainian forces for some time and now the americans are promising training as well. explain to us why this is important and what it is likely to look like as far as this new american promise? >> well again, we have training on two levels. we have the basic military training, all the recruits and every army worldwide goes through. that is what the brits are doing, mostly, and what the eu is going to do in the future. and we have specialized training of weapons systems delivered to ukraine. that's what the u.s. did with

their howitzers, what the germans did with the antiaircraft guns and howitzers and stuff like that. so, we have to differentiate a bit and we will see what they knew announced training by the u.s. will be. and we have not confirmed yet the rumor that the u.s. are willing to deliver patriot air defense systems that would mean a new layer of air defense for ukraine. and quite obviously if those are to be delivered, the ukrainians will need training on this as well. phil: ukrainian authorities are happy to hear these rumors about the potential delivery of these patriot systems. explain to us why they are likely to make so much of a difference. >> well this would mean, if confirmed, that ukraine would receive a different layer of western air defense systems.

they have also already received for example the short range german system that will secure certain areas, cities. they were used in kyiv, obviously. and now patriot would add another layer, far ranging, up to 100 kilometers in higher altitudes. and also a mix of possible air defense against what the military calls air breathing targets. that's planes, helicopters, cruise missiles, and theater ballistic missiles. the ballistic missiles, that is something ukraine needs. they have the 300 system but obviously they are running low on the ammunition for that. so the new system could mean a game changer. on the other hand, we have no

information yet what configuration of patriot ukraine is going to receive. will it be modern and sophisticated? or will it be older? which still might make a difference. phil: that is very clear, thank you for sharing your expertise with us. >> thank you. phil: the european union has agreed on a new 18 billion dollar aid package for ukraine. this also drove there ninth round of sanctions against russia, including more trap -- more travel bans >> and asset freezes. -- bans and asset freezes. >> on the table, and $18 billion -- 18 billion euro aid package for ukraine along with several other measures. compromises were made.

>> everything wasn't -- improved. money for hungry. animal taxation for the second pillar. so there is new -- no need to condemn the process. the result is most important. >> the u.n. created a price cap to try to stop moscow from profiteering from soaring energy prices but this time they were not able to pass plans for a similar cap on gas to the energy minister meeting next week. they did rubberstamp a ninth set of sanctions on moscow including blacklisting 200 more people and banning investments in the russian mining industry. >> the russian strategy of destroying their infrastructure and exposing the citizens to a brutally cold winter may not and will not succeed. >> the summit was overshadowed by a corruption scandal

engulfing the parliament. one of their vice presidents accused of taking money from qatar for favors. here a promise to root out corruption. >> as of today i'm putting together a wide-ranging reform package to be ready in the new year. this will include the strengthening of the parliament's whistleblower protection systems. a ban on all unofficial friendships groups. a review of the policing of our code of conduct rules. and a complete and in-depth look at how we interact with third countries. >> they are winding down their business for the holidays but before leaving they thought tackling the southern europe migration crisis will be the priority in the new year. phil: it's been quite a week for

the eu parliament. let's take a look at their issues with a green member of european parliament, the vice chair of the ukraine delegation. thanks for joining us, welcome. let's start with the first point of that chad raised, are poland and hungary playing politics with support for ukraine to serve their own interests? >> well, i mean we have faced this problem with poland and hungary for quite some time and it is always i would say rather awful and shaming that their national interest raises the price for all of us and it takes more time and postpones sometimes final decisions. and from outside it looks sometimes less united than it really is. so, i think that on ukraine, on the sanctions package, it's a rather broad majority on how to

proceed. but when you look into the details and some of the rhetoric, it does make things easier. phil: this begs the question, how long unity on the issue of ukraine can stand. we have seen divisions. not just with poland and hungary but also on things like the russian import of fertilizers. how long can you hold together against russia like this? >> i think overall the majority of the head of states and also of course the majority in the european pollock -- parliament are very concerned and very much aware of the threat, of russia's threat. so, taking this into account, i think that all of us are very much ready to compromise and very much ready to give towards

the national interest. i know that fertilizers is a big issue for all the farmers in the member states, but nonetheless the enemy is inside and we need to make sure ukraine can win and will succeed in this terrible war. >> one of these others issues the leaders have kicked around for some time is a decision on the eu wide price cap on russian gas imports. the leaders have kicked to that decision back to energy ministers next week. what is the hold up there? >> i think there are different opinions on whether a price cap would, in the end, harm our supply from different, different countries and different territory states. and more weather this would even

affect russia and india. on oil it took a long time and until then, russia had prepared itself. they had a fleet of almost 100 vessels for the oil delivery and supply to different parts of the world. with gas, it's much more difficult. so personally, i would be in favor of harsh but for certain member states that's extremely difficult and they are ready to pay a much higher price. especially in germany, our economy, lives may still depend on the gas supplies. it is extremely difficult to decide that in that is why it was postponed once again. phil: thank you so much for joining us. >> thank you so much. phil: a quick look at more stories making headlines around the world.

10 people killed in a higher year the french city of leon. five were children. the fire started at 3:00 in the morning on the ground floor and spread up through the seven story building. that you has warned twitter that they could be sanctioned after a law designed to protect media freedoms in europe. the social media platform may have violated that law by suspending the accounts of journalists who posted information about the new owner of twitter, elon musk. nasa has launched a satellite into orbit with the aim to conduct the world's first global survey of the water. using radar technology on lakes and rivers and could shed new light on the impact of climate change. japan has revealed that plans -- they have plans for military

buildup, the biggest since world war ii, doubling their spending and bringing it up to nato standards and the move away from a self-defense only stents -- stance as they look to counter regional threats. iran condemning the european union after the response to the current wave of antigovernment protests. brussels announced measures telling commanders and a senior cleric that protests have swept since the death of a young kurdish woman in police custody in september. 11 people have been sentenced to death in connection with the demonstrations. the first two were executed in the last week and 18,000 have been arrested, including close family members of the supreme leader. his niece is one of his harshest critics. >> it's difficult to get a full picture of life in iran right

now, but when a video is published, the eyes of the people are on it. not since the islamic revolution have the people made their voices heard so loudly and clearly and with such great risk to their lives. among the fiercest critics, the niece of the supreme leader. she has spoken out harshly against her uncle and called on foreign governments to cut all ties with to ron. -- tehran. >> free people, be with us and support us so that your government stops this murderous and child killing regime. >> dangerous words in the republic, words she was arrested for. farideh moradkhani is in jail in tehran, where according to her lawyer she will spend the next three years. opposition to the supreme leader runs in the family.

farideh moradkhani's late father was a critic of the regime. her brother, an activist living in exile in france. this branch doesn't want anything to do with the crackdown on dissent. the unrest has been going on for three months and the rage on the streets has only increased. in this video the people of tehran can be heard chanting i will kill whoever killed my brother and death to the dictator after a man was executed for his role in the protests. it's tiny glimpses into even silencing their own family. phil: we heard from the niece of the supreme leader condemning her uncles government, her

brother has been just as vocal. he is an anti-regime activist and has lived in paris. he spoke to our -- in an exclusive interview and told us what he thinks the last three months of protests have been so important. >> the youth of iran have now realized that what this regime said about the former regime was a lie. they have told many lies. and now they are lying about their daily routines. about the economy. about everything. and, of course, about political issues. they kill people in the street. then they say those people had a stroke and died. phil: a journalist who

specializes in middle east affairs told me why she thinks protests are continuing despite brutal crackdowns. >> we heard a lot of reasons why people are not backing down, that people despite the brutality of the regime, especially now with the executions and let's not forget they already killed at least 500 people these last three months, it's just, it's just the level of oppression in the country that the whole world is seeing right now. it brings people out to stop it. videos from today where people chant in the street for each person that you kill, there will be 1000 people behind them. this is the spirit of the people. it's what we have been hearing for more than two months. the moment that we stop, they are going to kill us all, they are going to get us because then the attention of the world won't be there anymore, so they kind

of have to go on protesting. phil: from outside we tend to review the iranian regime is a monolithic object but there are clearly factions within the government and i wonder if there are factions there siding with protesters or who see it as an opportunity? >> this is very difficult to see, this regime has had 44 years of practice sticking together with a lot of propaganda. the family has been anti-oppression for a long time. this didn't come up in just the protest. i am sure there are people in the regime already thinking that this is wrong, what we are doing, this level of oppression we are exerting is something they don't want anything to do with. but it is a system of dependence. the people within the government depend on the regime to keep it functioning for their money,

their wealth, their health, their life. it's harder for them to just speak out. phil: from the international community we have seen the expected condemnation and sanctions, but i wonder if you think there might have been more of a bigger response had the war in ukraine not happened and perhaps international attention been focused elsewhere? >> i don't get has anything to do with attention. we could definitely see you way more response, much bigger and stronger than we have en seeing. we have seen what the west is capable of doing when it comes to russia. we have had eight rounds of sanctions, even more. we have not seen that response in iran and i think the reasons for this is that a lot of governments do not think it will

be the end of the regime so they are hesitant to actually do something that clearly puts them on the side of the protesters. we have yet to see that happening but it is necessary. the regime will fall at some point. we don't know how long it's going to take, but the governments in the west need to be on the right side here. phil: fascinating analysis and we thank you for. >> thank you. phil: chaos, total devastation, lots of dead fish. that's what one of the guests at the radisson blue in central berlin described the situation after this huge aquarium in the lobby burst this morning. it was thankfully empty at the time of the accident but two people were injured by flying glass and 1500 tropical fish were killed. >> this giant aquarium was home to around 1500 tropical fish. it was a popular destination for

tourists. the guests at the hotel woke up friday morning to the sound of a long bang -- loud bang. the beloved aquarium had shattered. >> it sounded like a firework but the hotel actually shook inside. i could describe it as a [mouth noise] i jolted out of bed and i didn't see movement and didn't know what the heck was going on. >> the tank with one million liters of water shattered quickly. >> the tank behind me burst. a massive water leakage that caused damage to the building. >> the pressure sent debris from the building flying into the street. rescue teams arrived. hotel guests were evacuated.

>> we heard a loud bang at 5:00 or 6:00 but didn't think anything of it at the time. a wild later, we got out and looked. all of the elevators went down and the lobby was completely destroyed. >> a large number of the fish could not be saved because of the abrupt leak. the elevator ride with views of the tank is now only a memory. phil: this is dw news live from berlin and here's a reminder of our top story. ukraine hit by a fresh barrage of russian airstrikes. the latest bombardments come as moscow is preparing for a widescale new offensive as early as january. don't forget, you can always get dw news on the go. download our app from google

play orthe apple app store. we will bring you breaking news and push notifications. eco-india is next, our environment magazine. i will be back at the top of the hour. have a good day. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ♪

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♪ >> hello and welcome. here are the headlines. three months after a death, the protests show no sign of abating , the death sparking the largest demonstrations the country has seen in 40 years. russia fires 70 missiles at ukraine, the vast majority intercepted. the attacks leave the countr y's second largest city in the dark. elon musk under fire after

journalists are suspended from twitter without warning. his company says it was not just journalists who were implicated over data. ♪ anchor: it is good to have you with this. it has been three months since a 22-year-old died while in custody of iranian police, sparking the biggest protest movement since the iranian revolution in 1979, now entering the fourth month, protesters callis reverberate around the world and have only intensified last week. we have this report. [chanting] reporter: three months on,

woman, life, freedom, the slogan resonates in the streets of iran. unprecedented protests sparked by the death of the 22-year-old mahsa amini while in custody of the iranian morality police, arrested for allegedly violating strict dress codes for women. unrest is been driven by long-standing discontent over poverty, inequality, injustice, and corruption. spearheading the protest movement, our young students, organizing rallies like this one in tehran university. they are joined by people of epic minorities, but -- ethnic minorities, but business owners and workers with calls for general strike, further weakening the iranian economy. the last couple of weeks, people are also organizing silent marches, like here in the country's northwest. on december 4, an iranian

official announced the abolition of the morality police, but activists are skeptical of the claim, saying the announcement did not come from the interior ministry, and women's dress codes have not changed. on the contrary, repression is continuing. since september 16 between 14,000 to 17,000 people are believed to be arrested and more than 400 killed and violence, including children, and 11 hav have been sentenced to deathe death with two executed. oath were 23 years old. despite thousands of arrests, some iranians are lucky enough to be released, like the 17-year-old who face the death penalty. according to reporters without borders, the regime has put 34 journalists in prison since the beginning of demonstrations. on social media, students post

photos of ropes. this one is pictured with the message that reads, hope will not be executed. anchor: that was our correspondent with that report. let's cross over now to speak with a professor of persian literature at pennsylvania university. thank you for joining us on "france 24." >> thank you. anchor: i wanted to ask about the social status of kurds in iran. we hear they are being marginalized, and what steny has set played in igniting this protest movement >> yeah, that is a very important question and as you know the iranian/kurdish woman killed in police custody was from a border city. these areas remain one of the most deprived and neglected regions in the whole country over the past 43 years. they have been subjected to

purposeful discrimination over the past four decades, and unfortunately this is not the first time that we witness lethal state violence against the protesters. back in the 1980's, we saw the same pattern and critical executions that you know have repeated happened in those areas. i think one thing that is important to keep in mind is that the kurds are 13% to 15% of the whole population of the country but we have between 35% to 45% of political prisoners in those areas. and unfortunately, one of the reasons that their names usually don't get out that often is because the level of the state oppression and also the ideology of divide and conquer, and using

separatism as an accusation of those political prisoners and one of the reasons they have been easily targeted and imprisoned and also executed. i think it is importanto know that the roots of this movement, we should not forget it is deeply rooted in fact that the kurdish movement and the main slogan of this movement was for the first time chanted by the kurdish activists and women activists move of the kurdish areas in turkey, iran, and iraq. anchor: it seems to be spreading geographically. how much has the movement ballooned since it began? is it now involving other sections of society rather than just the kurds in kurdish women? >> absolutely.

absolutely. it is coming you know, to recognize the roots and to keep that in mind does not mean that this movement is limited to the kurdish provinces of the country, as you know. this is an unprecedented movement in the sense that we see similarities of different ethnic and religious minorities inside the country. you have the largest transnational solidarity network since the victory of the revolution, even compared to 2009 green uprising, we have really an unprecedented level of unity inside the country from the northwest of the country, from azerbaijan, the turkish area, to the the kurdish provinces and other areas in the southwest and southeast, which has been the scene of some of

the most brutal crackdowns in the past three months. only in one day, the government forces gunned down over 100 protesters in one area who actually raised, you know, in, came to the streets in solidarity with their fair low -- fellow kurdish citizens in protesters in those areas, so i think it is the first time that we see over the past four decades that the regime has failed in using this ideology of divide and conquer, because they see this level of unity in all different sectors of the society, among all different ethnic and religious minorities in the lgbtq+ community, and this is why it has become the biggest threat and a challenge to the core of the regime and

also the, you know, most important tipping point in the history of the islamic republic. anchor: professor, i'm running out of time, but briefly, outside perspective, as you said, that seems to be affecting so many different sections of society and the protesting microbrew groundswell and speaking to colleagues and people you know on the ground is there a sense that the movement is different than anything we seen since 1979? >> yes,t is ver different and very unique and unprecedented from those reasons that i mentioned and i think with the international pport also shows that for the first time women and girls and citizens of iran are being seen and are being heard in the international community and i think that is externally important. the political guardianship and those claiming the political guardianship and custody of the political prisoners has started among by the german parliament areas couple of days ago is that

, it is an important step and i would like to urge parliamentarians across the world to actually join their colleagues in germany and make the name of those unknown prisoners known to the world, because we are at a very important turning point in the history of the country and we need the international support. anchor: ok. ok, professor, professor of persian literature, but thank you for joining us on "france 24." well, in one of its largest volleys yet, pressure lawn 76 missiles at ukraine on friday and 60 were shut down but those that reach their targets created havoc on already crippled infrastructure with power completely knocked out in the country's second-largest city. the barrage has prompted emergency blackouts nationwide. our correspondent tells us more. correspondent: in kyiv, the

pounding started at dawn, in the capital and other cities and towns, residents sought refuge, like here in kyiv's metro system turned again into a bomb shelter. in the central city, several people were killed when a missile hit a residential building. friday's strikes hit cities across the area, crippling energy facilities, and in kyiv, the water supply system. other cities in ukraine and one region were among the areas hit. for ukrainian officials, repeated attacks on their energy grid is strategic and chose russia is preparing for a new mass of offensive -- massive offensive. early this month, the head of ukrainian forces told the economist. >> schelling civilians, leaving our wives and children to freeze to death but they need it for

one simple purpose, they need time to gather resources and create new potential so they can continue to fulfill their goals. correspondent: ukraine has alerted its allies that russia does not intend to de-escalate the war after a series of setbacks, but instead, to launch another ground offensive early next year any time from january to march. with these warnings, ukrainian officials are pushing their allies for additional military assistance, including a quick delivery of extra antimissile defense systems. anchor: there has been global backlash after elon musk's twitter suspended the accounts of several journalists thursday, from the new york times, cnn, and the washington post were suspended for linking to an account to an account that tracks private jets, including elon musk, opening must to allegations of hypocrisy when it comes to free speech. our correspondent has the details. correspondent: he is a

self-described free-speech absolutist. people in most promise when he bought twitter to post a expression on the platform, but on thursday, it suspended the accounts of half a dozen journalists without providing an excellent nation. elon musk later took to twitter to accuse a journalist assuring private information about his whereabouts, that he described is basically assassination coordinates. journalists have been reporting on elon musk and twitter suspension earlier. the account, which had amassed more than 500,000 followers, had long attracted his ire, tracking his private jet using publicly available flight data. a month ago, he let it keep running even though itas in "direct personal risk." the college student reportedly rejected his $5,000 offer to delete it. the account which has emerged to an alternate to twitter since

his takeover was also suspended thursday without explanation. the european union commissioner for values and transparency tweeted the arbitrary suspension of journalists is worrying and reminded elon musk of the respect for media freedom and fundamental rights. elon musk has made major changes to content moderation twitter since his takeover of the reinstating high-profile accounts that breezily broke twitter's rules against hateful conduct and misinformation. he has also said he would suress negativity and hate by depriving some accounts of freedom of reach. anchor: it is time for a look at the business news today. i'm joined by our correspondent in the studio. good to see you. latest news. france, troubled project enormity. correspondent: it is the next generation nuclear reactor that has been under construction since 2007, and whilst originally only to take five years to build come in now the

state power, he said it would face another delay of at least six months and costs will increase by 500 million euros. it has been dogged by repeated cost overruns. we have this report. correspondent: another setback for the french nuclear industry. 12 years, that is the new total delay time for this next generation nuclear reactor. the state owned electricity group announced an additional six month delay on friday, blaming welding problems. >> it is adjusting the calendar for the projects come the loading of fuel now plan for the first trimester of 2024. correspondent: those delays will cost an extra 500 million euros and it has blown back because predictions which initially stood at 3.3 billion

.the 56 reactors across the country usually generate 70% of electricity needs, and although two more reactors were put back online last week, 16 are still out of order. they have announced its two conventional reactors at the location are suffering repair delays also. in february, french president emmanuel macron said he wanted a nuclear renaissance that would see up to 14 new reactors inferences the country tries to reduce its reliance on fossil fuels. delays on the threat of power cuts as winter is not providing france residents with much optimism. correspondent: let's look at the markets now, and global shares continued to decline amid worries over a recession, and

another round of rate hikes by global central banks. all three main indices on wall street touched a session low on friday, then bounced off the levels in the final hour of trading to finish down around 1%. shares in goldman sachs the world's second largest investment bank dropped amid reports it is preparing to lay off almost 4000 employees to navigate and "difficult economic environment." international money transfer company has suspended handling payments in ghana's currency after rapid appreciation made it more expensive. it has until recently been among this year's worst performing currencies in the world, but has risen nearly 50% against the greenback this week as the government reached a relief deal with the international monetary fund. worth $3 billion, the currency

is still down by about 29% in january. nigeria has started circulating new bank bills, but the first day was chaotic. the rollout of the new bills as part of the governments efforts to bring more people to the banking system in a cash-reliant economy as well as the curb money laundering and corruption. although the plan was earlier announced late last month, people only have until the end of january to either spend or exchange old bank bills, but on the first day of circulation with the new notes were a rare sight as most of the money has been handed out and banks continue to have old bills. >> i have been to a few atm's, but this is the last one today. there is no new [indiscernible] >> [indiscernible] i and up having to [indiscernible]

there is [indiscernible] correspondent: to be fair, it's a rapid transition from old bank notes to new banknotes. anchor: i was about to say two months is not a long time. i remember when they brought in the new british coin. correspondent: it circulated for years and years sometime. anchor: yeah, short. thank you. now we have a special report from our team at the france 24 observers who have conducted an investigation into the used of shotguns by the security services in iran. they found evidence that any niche in manufactured in the european union has been used to repress the protests in the country, a violation of ease sanctions. the revelations provoke further theory against iranians around the world and the foreign ministry is investigating meanwhile. take a look. correspoent: -- >> [speaking in foreign language]

[speaking in french] correspondent: welcome to special edition of the observers, part two of our investigation into the use of shotguns to repress ongoing protests in iran. in part one, we document of the widespread use of shotguns by iran security services, including one militia. iranian sent as photographs of spent cartridges they had recovered from the protests. at least 13 of them bore the logos of the french/obtained manufactured. that is an apparent violation of this eu sanction which bands the export directly or indirectly of equipment which might be used for internal repression in iran. including firrms, and etion, and reted accessories. iranians around the world have reacted with fury to our revelations. protesters in tehran are spraying graffiti on the walls asking why it is ok to export shotgun shells under the embargo

but not other things. here in france, iranians want answers. >> [speaking in french] >> the revelations were made by two journalists. one journalist has been in contact with people inside iran since protests erupted over the death in september. >> i came across this photo that shows a shotgun cartridge recovered from protests in iran. if you look at it closely, you can see something written on the base. i contacted the person who took it and picked up the shotgun shell after a protest on september 28. he gave me the exact location.

[chanting] >> another person in tehran sent us a similar cartridge, this with this written four times and four stars. it is a french/italian ammunition maker. here is the website, you can see the cartridges here with this on the base, and here with the logo. they make empty shotgun cartridges with metal bases, then sell them around the world to other manufacturers, who fill them with ammunition. they claim to be the world's biggest manufacturer of empty cartridges. it has factories in france and italy, but the european union has an embargo of selling these products to iran. i wanted to know how these cartridges made in france and italy and that being used against protesters in iran. >> he sent out a message asking iranians to send in photos of spent in mission recovered from

the protests paired his twe s massively shared and people sent and photos from all over iran showing off his kinds of ammunition one person found another ctridge. a grp of activists and thin photos of 10 more from around the country. all in all, 13 branded cartridges were recovered from protests in eight difference city's. one of the people who responded was a member of a militia. he told us tt the standard issue for his unit was clear cartridges like these for antiriot use, filled with plastic pellets. that he said that during this year's protest they had been issued hunting cartridges like these contain metal pellets. the united nations says that metal pellets should never be used for crowd control, but in iran, they havbeen. viewer sentence photographs showing injuries caused by metal pellets known as birdshot. fired at the head, birdshot has left hundreds of protesters blind.

and at least 20 dead. [shouting] >> it turns out that the cartridges have been widely available in iran for years for use by hunters. >> what i did is look at hunting firms, iranian hunters get an annual quota of 100 cartridges, usually an iranian brand, and it turns out that many of these cartridges use these components. take a look at this message from 2014. it is written there. and on the box, made in italy. ♪ >> there were hundreds of messages on the forum referring to cartridges dating back as far as 2011, many cobranded with a line of hunting cartridges produced by a company, part of

iran state owned group, which is under embargo by the united nations, united states, and eu. we spoke to five different exrts on eu nctions. they all told us the sanction supplied to shotgun shells and their components, whether they were intended for use by hunters or by the security services. >> the eu sanctions applied to compents. ammunitionassociated the is an exemption for hunting and her uses. >> they said the company is responsive for euring that its product are not sold in iran, even if they sell those to a third party in a non-european country. >> it is o thing if a company does not know what is happening to its products. but the company does ow now, and now that it doeso that some of its ammunition for reprsion in iran, the company should investigate, find out what has happened.

>> we asked the company repeatedly for comment. they did not respond. iranian women in france have taken the complaints department. >> [speaking in french] >> the french foreign ministry told us the company had never been authorized to export directly t iran and said an investigation is underway. we spoke to one of the mps. >> [speaking in french] >> that might not be enough for the iranians. for them and the experts we spoke to, the eu sanction is clear. >> [speaking in french]

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12/15/22 12/15/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> we have declared a state of emergency. the people will keep protesting. they will keep fighting to the end for all our father and brothers. -- for all our fallen brothers. we are outraged with everything that is happening. that is what we are askg