In Iran, protests over the death of Kurdish lady Mahsa Amini while she was being held captive have resulted in at least 17 fatalities, however, a rights organization reported the number to be nearly twice as high.
Amini, 22, passed away last week after being detained by the dreaded morality police of the Islamic republic for reportedly donning a hijab in an “improper” manner. The news of her passing aroused global indignation.
During the country’s largest wave of protests in over three years, protestors can be heard yelling “Death to the dictator” and “Woman, life, freedom” in video footage that has been widely circulated online.
In addition to holding the morality police accountable for Amini’s passing and noting “abuse and brutality against Iranian women and the violation of rights of peaceful Iranian protestors,” the US Treasury added the morality police to its sanctions blacklist on Thursday.
Some Iranian women have burned their scarves and cut their hair in a symbolic gesture of defiance against the country’s tight dress code, daring acts that have been supported by demonstrations from New York to Istanbul.
At least 31 citizens were killed in Iran’s crackdown during six nights of violence against demonstrators in more than 30 towns and cities, according to the non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights, based in Oslo.
According to Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, the group’s director, Iranians have protested “to gain their fundamental rights and human dignity… and the government is responding to their peaceful protest with bullets.”
According to Amnesty International and other human rights organizations, security officers have used tear gas and water cannon in addition to shooting metal and birdshot at people.
According to the official IRNA news agency, protesters have stoned them, set fire to police vehicles, and screamed anti-government chants.
