Iranians protest for 10th night, defying judiciary warning
PARIS, France (AFP) — Iranians took to the streets for a 10th consecutive night Sunday, defying a warning from the judiciary to protest the death of young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody.
At least 41 people have died since the unrest began, mostly protesters but including members of the Islamic republic’s security forces, according to an official toll, although other sources say the real figure is higher.
Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) on Sunday evening said the death toll was at least 57, but noted that ongoing Internet blackouts were making it increasingly difficult to confirm fatalities in a context where the women-led protests have spread to scores of cities.
Echoing an earlier warning by President Ebrahim Raisi, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei on Sunday “emphasised the need for decisive action without leniency” against the core instigators of the “riots”, the judiciary’s Mizan Online website said.
Hundreds of demonstrators, reformist activists and journalists have been arrested amid the mostly night-time demonstrations since unrest first broke out after Amini’s death on September 16.
Amini, whose Kurdish first name was Jhina, was detained three days before that for allegedly breaching rules mandating tightly-fitted hijab head coverings and which ban, among other things, ripped jeans and brightly coloured clothes.
Images circulated by IHR showed protesters on the streets of Tehran, shouting “Death to the dictator”, purportedly after nightfall on Sunday.
Witnesses told AFP that protests were ongoing in several locations. Video footage showed demonstrations in Tabriz and Shiraz, among other places, with women removing their headscarves and protesters shouting against the authorities.
Iran’s largest protests in almost three years have seen security forces fire live rounds and bird shot, rights groups charge, while protesters have hurled rocks, torched police cars and set ablaze State buildings.
Some women protesters have burnt their hijabs in the rallies and cut off their hair, some dancing near large bonfires to the applause of crowds that have chanted “Zan, zendegi, azadi” or “Woman, life, freedom”.
Video of demonstrations on Saturday, verified by AFP, showed students ripping down a picture of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside a university in the northern province of Mazandaran.
Web monitor Netblocks noted “rolling blackouts” and “widespread Internet platform restrictions” on Sunday, with Whatsapp, Instagram and Skype having already been blocked. This followed older bans on Facebook, Twitter, Tiktok and Telegram.