Paris: At least 92 people have been killed as Iran cracks down on women-led protests mahsa amini Following his arrest by the notorious ethics police, the group Iran Human Rights said on Sunday.
In a third week of protests, President Ibrahim Raisi said on Sunday that Iran’s “enemies” had “failed in their plot”.
Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian, was pronounced dead on September 16 after she was detained for allegedly violating rules that required women to wear hijab headscarves and modest clothing, which led to almost no deaths in Iran. The biggest wave of popular unrest broke out in three years.
The Oslo-based IHR also said, citing local sources, that an additional 41 people were killed in Friday’s clashes in Iran’s far south-eastern region. The protest was triggered by allegations of rape of a teenager from the Baloch Sunni minority by a police chief in that area, the statement said.
Solidarity rallies with Iranian women – who have burned the hijab they are obliged to wear since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 – have been held around the world on Saturday with demonstrations in more than 150 cities.
In Iran itself, clashes between protesters and security forces have rocked cities across the country for 16 consecutive nights, when they first erupted in the western regions of Amini and Iran’s Kurdish minority home.
“Rioters” and “thugs”, some throwing Molotov cocktails, on Saturday attacked the Tehran headquarters of Iran’s leading ultra-orthodox daily Kahan, whose director is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the newspaper said.
IHR director Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam urged the international community to take immediate action against the Islamic Republic for stopping the killing of Iranian protesters, saying it was a “crime against humanity”.
At least 92 protesters have been killed at the Mahsa Amini rallies so far, said the IHR, which is working to assess the death toll despite internet shutdowns and blocks on WhatsApp, Instagram and other online services. .
London-based Amnesty International said it had previously confirmed 53 deaths, with Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency saying last week that “about 60” people had died.
On Sunday, the official IRNA news agency said a paramilitary man who was “stabbed” during “recent riots” in the Shiite holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, died in hospital.
Tehran has also faced unrest in the country’s southeast, and it said five Revolutionary Guards members were killed in clashes on Friday in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province.
The poverty-stricken region has often clashed with Balochi minority insurgents, Sunni Muslim extremist groups and drug trafficking gangs.
The IHR accused the predominantly Shia country’s security forces of “bloody repression” of the Zahedan protests, which erupted after Friday prayers over allegations a police chief in the province’s port city of Chabahar killed a 15-year-old girl. was raped.
Molawi Abdul Hamid, a Sunni preacher, on Wednesday warned the community of being “provocative” over the alleged rape.
Iran has accused outside forces of instigating nationwide protests, particularly the United States and Washington’s allies, and on Friday the intelligence ministry said nine foreign nationals were arrested, including from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. was.
The unrest comes as Iran seeks to revive its 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and other major powers, which slashed sanctions to shore up its oil-rich economy and bolstered South Korea, China and Japan. has deposited billions of dollars in Iranian funds.
The historic Vienna deal – which promised sanctions relief in exchange for tighter nuclear controls – has since turned sour for the US president Donald Trump It withdrew in 2018 and Iran later backed out of its commitments.
“At a time when the Islamic Republic was reeling from economic problems… the enemies came with the intention of isolating the country, but they failed in this plot,” Raisi said on Sunday.
In a rare concession, Iran has allowed the detained Iranian-American, 85-year-old Bakar Namazi, to leave the country and release his son. Siamak prayer50, from custody, the United Nations confirmed on Saturday.
Bakar Namazi is a former UNICEF official who was detained in February 2016 when he went to Iran to press for the release of Siamak, who was arrested in October last year.
Both were convicted of espionage and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Iranian state media said on Sunday that, following the prisoner’s release, Iran was now waiting to unfreeze about $7 billion in funds held abroad.
watch Explained: Iran’s anti-hijab protests and the role of religious police in Islamic countries
In a third week of protests, President Ibrahim Raisi said on Sunday that Iran’s “enemies” had “failed in their plot”.
Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian, was pronounced dead on September 16 after she was detained for allegedly violating rules that required women to wear hijab headscarves and modest clothing, which led to almost no deaths in Iran. The biggest wave of popular unrest broke out in three years.
The Oslo-based IHR also said, citing local sources, that an additional 41 people were killed in Friday’s clashes in Iran’s far south-eastern region. The protest was triggered by allegations of rape of a teenager from the Baloch Sunni minority by a police chief in that area, the statement said.
Solidarity rallies with Iranian women – who have burned the hijab they are obliged to wear since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 – have been held around the world on Saturday with demonstrations in more than 150 cities.
In Iran itself, clashes between protesters and security forces have rocked cities across the country for 16 consecutive nights, when they first erupted in the western regions of Amini and Iran’s Kurdish minority home.
“Rioters” and “thugs”, some throwing Molotov cocktails, on Saturday attacked the Tehran headquarters of Iran’s leading ultra-orthodox daily Kahan, whose director is appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the newspaper said.
IHR director Mahmoud Amiri-Moghaddam urged the international community to take immediate action against the Islamic Republic for stopping the killing of Iranian protesters, saying it was a “crime against humanity”.
At least 92 protesters have been killed at the Mahsa Amini rallies so far, said the IHR, which is working to assess the death toll despite internet shutdowns and blocks on WhatsApp, Instagram and other online services. .
London-based Amnesty International said it had previously confirmed 53 deaths, with Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency saying last week that “about 60” people had died.
On Sunday, the official IRNA news agency said a paramilitary man who was “stabbed” during “recent riots” in the Shiite holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, died in hospital.
Tehran has also faced unrest in the country’s southeast, and it said five Revolutionary Guards members were killed in clashes on Friday in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province.
The poverty-stricken region has often clashed with Balochi minority insurgents, Sunni Muslim extremist groups and drug trafficking gangs.
The IHR accused the predominantly Shia country’s security forces of “bloody repression” of the Zahedan protests, which erupted after Friday prayers over allegations a police chief in the province’s port city of Chabahar killed a 15-year-old girl. was raped.
Molawi Abdul Hamid, a Sunni preacher, on Wednesday warned the community of being “provocative” over the alleged rape.
Iran has accused outside forces of instigating nationwide protests, particularly the United States and Washington’s allies, and on Friday the intelligence ministry said nine foreign nationals were arrested, including from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland. was.
The unrest comes as Iran seeks to revive its 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and other major powers, which slashed sanctions to shore up its oil-rich economy and bolstered South Korea, China and Japan. has deposited billions of dollars in Iranian funds.
The historic Vienna deal – which promised sanctions relief in exchange for tighter nuclear controls – has since turned sour for the US president Donald Trump It withdrew in 2018 and Iran later backed out of its commitments.
“At a time when the Islamic Republic was reeling from economic problems… the enemies came with the intention of isolating the country, but they failed in this plot,” Raisi said on Sunday.
In a rare concession, Iran has allowed the detained Iranian-American, 85-year-old Bakar Namazi, to leave the country and release his son. Siamak prayer50, from custody, the United Nations confirmed on Saturday.
Bakar Namazi is a former UNICEF official who was detained in February 2016 when he went to Iran to press for the release of Siamak, who was arrested in October last year.
Both were convicted of espionage and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Iranian state media said on Sunday that, following the prisoner’s release, Iran was now waiting to unfreeze about $7 billion in funds held abroad.
watch Explained: Iran’s anti-hijab protests and the role of religious police in Islamic countries