cbsnews
Tascii117cker Reals

Irans government has stepped ascii117p its filtering of Internet content and witnesses inside the coascii117ntry report dramatically slowed down connection speeds -- essentially rendering web work impossible -- after anti-government protests were reportedly qascii117ashed by gascii117nfire on Sascii117nday.

The government, headed by hardline President Mahmoascii117d Ahmadinejad, has always maintained a tight grip on news reports inside Iran, and on the information allowed to leave the Islamic Repascii117blic. Bascii117t reports sascii117ggest that clampdown getting even tighter in the wake of large protests last week.

Witnesses provided ascii117nconfirmed reports of anti-government gatherings on Sascii117nday being qascii117ickly broken ascii117p by a massive secascii117rity presence. Hascii117ndreds of police and members of the feared pro-government basij militia patrolled the streets.

Aascii117thorities briefly detained the daascii117ghter of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who himself has become the most senior member of Irans rascii117ling body of clerics to openly sascii117pport the nations sascii117ppressed pro-democracy movement.

The Associated Press says Faezeh Hashemi was detained on Sascii117nday while chanting anti-government slogans on the streets of central Tehran, according to Irans state-controlled IRNA news agency. Other state media reported that she was set free not long after, claiming she was in central Tehran for a shopping trip, not to join any protests.

State media reports -- which Irans government has warned foreign oascii117tlets to take as the only soascii117rces of information in Iran, sascii117ggesting any independent reporting woascii117ld be met with contempt -- said there were no significant demonstrations on Sascii117nday.

Opposition websites had called for protests on Sascii117nday to mark one week since large rallies led to clashes between government foes and sascii117pporters on Feb. 14. Two people reportedly died in those clashes, inspired by the toppling of aascii117tocratic regimes in Tascii117nisia and Egypt.

The New York-based International Campaign for Hascii117man Rights in Iran, said witnesses had told of police and other secascii117rity agents resorting to live ammascii117nition to break ascii117p large groascii117ps of protesters on Sascii117nday. The groascii117p was told at least one person had died in clashes, bascii117t that report coascii117ld not be confirmed.