Death toll soars in Iranian protests
THE official death toll from Iran’s wave of popular unrest shot up yesterday to at least 31 as popular anger flared over the death in custody of young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini.
The Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights said at least 31 civilians had been killed in a crackdown by the Iranian security forces in six nights of violence.
Amini, 22, died last week after she had been arrested by the Islamic republic’s feared morality police for allegedly wearing a hijab headscarf in an “improper” way, sparking widespread outrage.
It is the biggest wave of protests to rock the country in almost three years.
Among those killed in clashes have been police and militia officers, state TV reported, while overseas-based human rights groups reported many more deaths. Security forces have fired at crowds with birdshot and metal pellets, and also deployed tear gas and water cannon, according to Amnesty International and other human rights groups.
There were fears the violence could escalate further after Iranian authorities restricted internet access and blocked messaging apps including WhatsApp and Instagram, as they have done before in past crackdowns.
Some women have burnt their scarves and symbolically cut their hair in protest at the strict dress code, in defiant actions echoed in solidarity protests abroad from New York to Istanbul.
Activists have said that Amini, whose Kurdish first name is Jhina, after her detention in Tehran suffered a fatal blow to the head, a claim denied by officials, who have announced an investigation. Iranian women on the streets of Tehran said they were now more careful about their dress to avoid run-ins with the morality police.
US President Joe Biden in an address to the UN General Assembly said “we stand with the brave citizens and the brave women of Iran who right now are demonstrating to secure their basic rights”. Iran’s ultra-conservative President Ebrahim Raisi, speaking later in the same forum, complained of a “double standard” and pointed to Israeli actions in the Palestinian territories and the deaths of indigenous women in Canada.
The protests come at a particularly sensitive time for the leadership, as the Iranian economy remains mired in a crisis largely caused by sanctions over its nuclear programme.
Unprecedented images have shown protesters defacing or burning images of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and late Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani.