Social, religious, and political groups were outraged by the 22-year-death. old’s Security forces killed four people.
Anti Government protests erupted across Iran on Monday in response to a young woman’s death in moral police custody. According to three Iran-focused human rights organisations, security forces fired on crowds in the northwest, killing four men.
More than a dozen cities and university campuses in Tehran saw mostly female-led protests. Mahsa Amini, 22, died Friday after being arrested for violating Iran’s hijab law, which requires women to cover their hair and wear loose-fitting robes.
Monday protesters waved their headscarves in defiance. In Tehran, men and women chanted “we will fight and take our country back,” including students on campuses where fear of arrests has kept dissent quiet for a year.
Iranian journalists posted videos online showing security forces firing gunshots and water cannons, chasing protesters, and beating them with batons.
In Kurdistan, Ms Amini’s home province in the northwest, four men were shot and killed in three cities, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Group, which posted their names and photos online. The rights group says 85 people, including 3 children, were injured and 200 were arrested.
Most shops in Kurdistan Province closed after opposition Kurdish political groups called for strikes, rights groups said.
“We are witnessing a nationwide reaction, like a George Floyd moment for the national conscience,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the Centre for Human Rights in Iran.
Like previous waves of nationwide protests in Iran, the demonstrations were sparked by a specific event — Ms Amini’s death — but quickly grew to include a litany of grievances, with crowds calling for the end of the Islamic Republic, according to Iranian journalist videos.
Many Iranians are frustrated by oppressive rules and economic hardship, with little hope of change. In the past, large deployments of security forces killed, injured, and arrested anti-government protesters.
Social, religious, and political groups were outraged by Ms Amini’s death. Senior clerics and othe government supporters called for the abolition of the morality police and condemned using violence to enforce religious rules.
The morality police say Ms Amini died of a heart attack, denying accusations she suffered head blows in a van. Ms Amini’s family says she was healthy, that security officials didn’t share her autopsy report, and that they were pressured to bury her at night and keep quiet about her death.
Many Iranians are frustrated by oppressive rules and economic hardship, with little hope of change and protests for the same. In the past, large deployments of security forces killed, injured, and arrested anti-government protesters.
Social, religious, and political groups were outraged by Ms Amini’s death. Senior clerics and other government supporters called for the abolition of the morality police and condemned using violence to enforce religious rules.
The morality police say Ms Amini died of a heart attack, Protesters deny accusations she suffered head blows in a van. Ms Amini’s family says she was healthy, that security officials didn’t share her autopsy report, and that Protests were pressured to bury her at night and keep quiet about her death.
