Nfter the death of a young woman in Iran, thousands of people took to the streets against the Islamic system of rule and the systematic discrimination against women. Hundreds were arrested, the authorities reported. In the north alone, the police took 739 people into custody on Saturday, including 60 women. According to media reports, there were again fatalities, but their number remained unclear.
Meanwhile, President Ebrahim Raisi once again announced a crackdown on the demonstrators. He said on Friday that “foreign-paid mercenaries” would not be allowed to endanger the country’s security. “Protest yes, riot no,” Raisi said.
The current protests were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Iranian Mahsa Amini. She was arrested a week ago by the vice squad for violating the strict Islamic dress code. What exactly happened to Amini after her arrest is unclear. It is known that she initially fell into a coma and died in a hospital on September 16. Critics accuse the morality police of using violence. The police deny the allegations.
Interior Minister denies use of force by police officers
In response to the protests, the government massively restricted access to the internet. Mobile radio networks in particular hardly work at all. It is therefore difficult for information, for example via social media, to leak out. And demonstrators are being made difficult to organize.
Interior Minister Ahmad Wahidi reiterated the government’s view on Saturday: “The medical examinations and those of the forensic medicine show that there were neither beatings (by the police) nor a fractured skull,” he said, according to the Irna news agency. The hasty conclusions in this case and the protests that followed were based on false interpretations.
Amini’s father, on the other hand, vehemently criticized the forensic medicine report. His daughter had no heart problems and therefore could not have died of heart failure, as claimed.
Human rights activists: At least 50 dead
Iran has had strict dress codes since the Islamic Revolution in 1979. In the big cities in particular, many women now see the rules as rather relaxed and, for example, only wear their headscarves on the back of their heads – to the annoyance of ultra-conservative politicians. Religious hardliners have been trying for months to enforce Islamic laws more strictly.
For the time being, the authorities do not want to give any more information on the number of fatalities in the protests. Iran’s state television broadcaster IRIB reported 35 dead but added that this number was unofficial and not yet confirmed. According to the human rights organization Iran Human Rights, at least 50 people have already died. The authorities had spoken of 17 to 20 dead two days ago.
Interior Minister Wahidi confirmed that there had been further deaths among demonstrators and among the security forces, but a number would only be announced after investigations. According to the minister, some people attempting to enter “high security facilities” were shot dead by security officers.
The police chief of the province of Gilan, Asisiollah Maleki, described the more than 700 arrested protesters as “riot makers”. They are responsible for the injury of more than 100 police officers and for damage to public facilities. Numerous weapons, ammunition and explosives were seized during the arrests, Maleki claimed, according to the state news agency IRNA.
According to the Mehr news agency, the Iranian secret service said that several bomb attacks had been foiled and suspects arrested in the city of Tabriz in the north-west of the country. They were planned by monarchy supporters and members of the People’s Mujahideen.
