Iran protests over young woman’s death continue, 83 said dead

DUBAI: On Thursday (September 29), protests continued in several cities across Iran over the death of a young woman in police custody, state and social media reported. At least 83 people have been killed in the nearly two-week demonstrations, human rights groups said. .

Martha Amini, 22, from Iran’s Kurdish town of Saqez, was arrested in Tehran earlier this month for “improper clothing” by the morality police, which enforce a strict dress code for women in the Islamic Republic.

Her death sparked major protests on Iran’s streets for the first time since authorities crushed protests against petrol price hikes in 2019.

“At least 83 people, including children, have been confirmed killed in #IranProtests,” Norway-based group Iran Human Rights said on Twitter.

Videos posted on Twitter show demonstrators calling for the collapse of clerical facilities in Tehran, Qom, Rasht, Sanandaji, Masjedi Suleiman and other cities despite the rising death toll and heavy crackdown by authorities. rice field.

State television said police had arrested a number of “rioters” but did not give a figure.

Rights groups said dozens of activists, students and artists had been detained, and the Committee to Protect Journalists said on Twitter that security forces had arrested at least 28 journalists as of September 29. Stated.

Meanwhile, Germany’s foreign minister said Thursday that he hopes the European Union will impose sanctions on Iran after Amini’s death.

In Norway, several people tried to enter the Iranian embassy in Oslo during angry demonstrations and two suffered minor injuries, Norwegian police said. Police have detained 95 of him, public broadcaster NRK reported.

President Ebrahim Raisi said the unrest was the latest move against Iran by hostile Western powers since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“For 43 years, enemies have made a calculative error in the face of Islamic Iran, believing that Iran is a weak country and can be ruled,” Raisi said on state television.