Iran has been rocked by protests since the September 16 death of this 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, who died three days after she was arrested by vice police in Tehran for allegedly breaking a strict dress code. of the Islamic Republic for women, including the wearing of the veil.
The Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) has reported at least 95 deaths in the crackdown on protesters since September 16. According to a latest Iranian report, dozens of people died as well as 18 members of the security forces.
In Sanandaj, the provincial capital of Kurdistan (north-west), the security forces used “heavy weapons”, accused the human rights NGO Hengaw.
They “pounded” residential areas and used “machine guns” in this city, the scene of some of the most important demonstrations of the protest, added the NGO, citing information that could not be independently verified. immediately.
Gunfire was also heard in Saqez, Mahsa Amini’s hometown, according to Hengaw.
The authorities denounce as “riots” the demonstrations and accuse foreign countries of stoking the demonstrations, in particular the United States, sworn enemy of Iran. According to them, the demonstrators damaged and set fire to public property, including police stations.
On Monday, Iranian Foreign Affairs Spokesman Nasser Kanani said the government “must protect the security of the nation and citizens, and cannot stand idly by in the face of chaos and disorder.”
– Student gatherings –
Until Sunday evening, the protests continued with rallies at universities in Tehran, according to videos posted on social media.
We see women who burn their veils and chant songs hostile to power.
Students at Azad University in Tehran held up their hands covered in red paint to denounce the bloody crackdown on the protests, according to a video posted on Twitter and verified by AFP.
According to the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), rallies have taken place at other universities such as Amirkabir.
The official IRNA news agency said police dispersed protesters “in dozens of places in Tehran” over the weekend using tear gas.
At Al Zahra Women’s University, still in Tehran, anti-regime slogans were chanted during a visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday, according to images published by the Iran Wire site.
– Confiscated passports –
Rallies in solidarity with the protest also continued abroad, such as Sunday in Paris.
According to NGOs, journalists, activists and artists have been arrested by Iranian authorities since the beginning of the movement.
Other personalities have seen their passports confiscated, like the legend of Iranian football Ali Daei, second top scorer in the history of the selections.
On September 27, Ali Daei urged the authorities to “settle the problems of the Iranian people rather than resorting to repression, violence and arrests”.
The passports of singer Homayoun Shajarian and his wife, actress Sahar Dolatshahi and filmmaker Mehran Modiri were also seized, according to Iranian news agency Ilna.
On Friday, Iranian authorities said Mahsa Amini died of illness and not of “beatings”, according to a medical report.
The young woman’s father, Amjad Amini, dismissed the report, saying his daughter was in good health before her arrest. Activists and NGOs claimed she suffered a head injury while in detention.
