DUBAI, Oct 9 (Reuters) – Protests ignited by the dying of a younger lady in police custody continued throughout Iran on Sunday in defiance of a crackdown by the authorities, as a human rights group stated a minimum of 185 individuals, together with children, had been killed in demonstrations.
Anti-government protests that started on Sept. 17 on the funeral of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in her Kurdish city of Saqez, have become the largest problem to Iran’s clerical leaders in years, with protesters calling for the downfall of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“At least 185 people, including at least 19 children, have been killed in the nationwide protests across Iran. The highest number of killings occurred in Sistan and Baluchistan province with half the recorded number,” the Norway-based Iran Human Rights stated on Saturday.
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Authorities have described the protests as a plot by Iran’s foes, together with the United States. They have accused armed dissidents amongst others of violence that has reportedly left a minimum of 20 members of the safety forces lifeless.
Videos shared on social media confirmed protests in dozens of cities throughout Iran early on Sunday with tons of of highschool ladies and college college students taking part regardless of the usage of tear gasoline, golf equipment, and in lots of instances stay ammunition by the safety forces, rights teams stated.
The Iranian authorities have denied that stay bullets have been used.
‘DON’T HIT MY WIFE, SHE IS PREGNANT’
A video posted on Twitter by the widely-followed activist 1500tasvir confirmed safety forces armed with golf equipment attacking college students at a highschool in Tehran.
In one other video, a person shouted “don’t hit my wife, she is pregnant,” whereas making an attempt to guard her from riot police within the metropolis of Rafsanjan on Saturday.
(*19*)A video shared by Twitter account Mamlekate, which has greater than 150,000 followers, confirmed safety forces chasing dozens of faculty ladies within the metropolis of Bandar Abbas. Social media posts stated retailers had been closed in a number of cities after activists known as for a mass strike.
Reuters couldn’t confirm the movies and posts. Details of casualties have trickled out slowly, partly due to web restrictions imposed by the authorities.
Meanwhile, the semi-official Tasnim information company quoted deputy inside minister warning of harsh sentences for these it referred to as rioters.
Amini was arrested in Tehran on Sept. 13 for sporting “inappropriate attire”. She died three days later at a Tehran hospital.
A state coroner’s report on Saturday stated Amini had died from pre-existing medical situations. Her father has held the police accountable for her dying with the household lawyer saying “respectable doctors” imagine she was crushed whereas in custody.
While the United States and Canada have already positioned sanctions on Iranian authorities, the European Union was contemplating imposing asset freezes and journey bans on Iranian officers.
“Those who beat up (Iranian) women and girls on the street, who abduct, arbitrarily imprison and condemn to death people who want nothing other than to live free – they stand on the wrong side of history,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock informed Bild am Sonntag newspaper on Sunday.
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Additional reporting by Birgit Mitwollen in Berlin
Writing by Parisa Hafezi; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Barbara Lewis
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