TEHRAN: At least 35 people have been killed in more than a week of protests that erupted in Iran following the death of a young woman in police custody, state media reported.
“The number of people who died in the recent riots in the country has risen to 35 people,” the Borna news agency, affiliated with the sports ministry, quoted state television as saying on Friday evening.
The official death toll previously stood at 17, including five security officers.
Protesters have taken to the streets of major cities across Iran, including Tehran, for eight consecutive nights since Mahsa’s death Amini.
The 22-year-old Kurdish woman was pronounced dead three days after she was arrested in the Iranian capital for wearing the hijab in an “unseemly” manner.
Thousands of people marched through Tehran on Friday in a pro-hijab rally, paying tribute to security forces who rallied to quell a week of protests by what the media called “conspiratorial”.
Demonstrations in support of the security forces also took place in several towns across the country, including Ahvaz, Isfahan, Qom and Tabriz.
Amini died after spending three days in a coma following her arrest by Iran’s morality police, a unit tasked with enforcing the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
Activists said she was hit in the head in police custody, but this has not been confirmed by Iranian authorities, who have opened an investigation.
Friday night, interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Amini was unbeaten.
“Reports from oversight bodies were received, witnesses were interviewed, videos were reviewed, forensic opinions were obtained and it was found that there was no beating. “, said Vahidi, quoted by Iranian media.
The minister said the government was investigating the cause of Amini’s death, adding “we have to wait for the final opinion from the medical examiner, which takes time.”
Vahidi criticized “those who took irresponsible positions, incited violence and followed the United States, European countries and anti-revolutionary groups”.
“The number of people who died in the recent riots in the country has risen to 35 people,” the Borna news agency, affiliated with the sports ministry, quoted state television as saying on Friday evening.
The official death toll previously stood at 17, including five security officers.
Protesters have taken to the streets of major cities across Iran, including Tehran, for eight consecutive nights since Mahsa’s death Amini.
The 22-year-old Kurdish woman was pronounced dead three days after she was arrested in the Iranian capital for wearing the hijab in an “unseemly” manner.
Thousands of people marched through Tehran on Friday in a pro-hijab rally, paying tribute to security forces who rallied to quell a week of protests by what the media called “conspiratorial”.
Demonstrations in support of the security forces also took place in several towns across the country, including Ahvaz, Isfahan, Qom and Tabriz.
Amini died after spending three days in a coma following her arrest by Iran’s morality police, a unit tasked with enforcing the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women.
Activists said she was hit in the head in police custody, but this has not been confirmed by Iranian authorities, who have opened an investigation.
Friday night, interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Amini was unbeaten.
“Reports from oversight bodies were received, witnesses were interviewed, videos were reviewed, forensic opinions were obtained and it was found that there was no beating. “, said Vahidi, quoted by Iranian media.
The minister said the government was investigating the cause of Amini’s death, adding “we have to wait for the final opinion from the medical examiner, which takes time.”
Vahidi criticized “those who took irresponsible positions, incited violence and followed the United States, European countries and anti-revolutionary groups”.
