Almost 76 protestors have been killed by the Iranian military during the crackdowns against protests going on for the last 11 days against Mahsa Amin killing, who died while she was in the custody of Morality Police, according to the activists.
The riots were initially concentrated in Iran’s Kurdish-populated northwestern regions but gradually spread to at least 50 cities and towns across the country and are the largest since the wave of protests in 2019 over gasoline price rises.
Iran Human Rights (IHR), a Norway-based organization, accused the security forces of using live ammunition and disproportionate force to suppress dissent.
“The risk of torture and ill-treatment of protesters is serious and the use of live ammunition against protesters is an international crime,” said IHR’s director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. “The world must defend the Iranian people’s demands for their fundamental rights.”
Meanwhile, state-run media agencies put the number of deaths at 41, including numerous security personnel, and blamed “rioters” as the officials denied the killing of protestors at the hand of security forces, suggesting they may have been shot by armed dissidents.
Mahsa Amin case
The series of massive protests across Iran started on Friday last week following the death of Mahsa Amin, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who was visiting Tehran on September 13 during which morality police arrested her for allegedly violating the hijab law which requires the native women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf.
Amini collapsed during police custody in the detention center where she was taken for “one hour of re-education” and died in hospital following three days in a coma.
As per police reports, Ms Amini died after suffering a sudden heart attack, but her family rejected that and accused that she was beaten by officers.
