PARIS – The Iranian police warned this Wednesday that they will act “with all their forces” against the demonstrations unleashed by the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, after being arrested in Tehran by the morality police.
For the twelfth consecutive day, Iranians protested Tuesday night over the death of the 22-year-old, arrested in Tehran for allegedly violating the strict dress code — which includes covering her hair in public — imposed by the Islamic Republic on women. in public.
According to Erfan Salih Mortezaee, the young woman’s cousin interviewed by AFP, she died after a “violent blow to the head” received by the police the day of her arrest.
Mahsa Amini’s parents sued the policemen who arrested her, the family’s lawyer said, quoted by the Isna agency.
“We have asked the head of the public prosecutor’s office and the investigating judge to investigate in detail the way in which the detention was carried out until Mahsa’s transfer to the hospital”, where the young woman died on September 16, three days after being arrested, explained the lawyer Saleh Nikbakht.
Likewise, the lawyer asked the authorities to provide “all the videos and photographs” available throughout Mahsa Amini’s detention in the hands of the morality police.
The chief prosecutor “promised that the case will be thoroughly dealt with and all requests will be taken into account,” according to Nikbakht.
dozens of dead
The Iranian authorities deny any involvement in the death of Mahsa Amini, originally from Iranian Kurdistan, and have warned that they will act firmly against the protesters.
“The police officers will oppose with all their might the conspiracies of the counterrevolutionaries and hostile elements and will act firmly against those who disturb public order and security throughout the country,” the police command said, quoted by the Fars news agency.
According to human rights groups, police have in recent days shot protesters with live bullets.
The last balance offered on Tuesday by the Fars press agency gave part of 60 dead in the demonstrations since September 16. The police reported 10 dead agents, without specifying if they are among the 60 deceased.
The Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported “at least 76 dead” on Monday.
Bombings in Iraqi Kurdistan
The Iranian authorities have denounced these demonstrations as acts of “separatist groups” and the fruit of “foreign plots”, and pointed to the United States, their great enemy.
This Wednesday, Iran bombed armed groups of the Iranian Kurdish opposition in Iraqi Kurdistan, causing at least nine deaths and some 30 injuries, according to local authorities. Baghdad summoned the Iranian ambassador to convey his protest.
Spain also summoned the Iranian ambassador in Madrid “to express its protest against the repression of demonstrations and the violation of women’s rights,” a diplomatic source told AFP.
Hours earlier, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, urged Iran to have “maximum restraint” in the face of the protests that are shaking the country.
1,200 detainees
So far, authorities have reported the arrest of 1,200 protesters since September 16. According to NGOs, militants, lawyers and journalists were also arrested.
According to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, Faeze Hashemi, daughter of former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani (1989-1997), was arrested in Tehran for “inciting rioters to demonstrate.”
In recent days, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has called on the security forces to act “firmly against those who threaten the security of the country and the people” and the head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, ruled out any “leniency” against instigators of the “riots”.
To limit the protests, authorities have blocked access to Instagram and Whatsapp in the country, which is also experiencing internet connection disruptions.
