PARIS: Iranian security forces have killed at least 326 people in a nationwide crackdown on protests since Mahsa Amini died in custody, Iran Human Rights said in an updated tally Saturday.
The Islamic republic has been gripped by protests that erupted after Amini’s death on September 16, three days after he was arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.
The protests were stoked by fury over dress rules for women, but have blossomed into a broad movement against the theocracy that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution.
“At least 326 people, including 43 children and 25 women, have been killed by security forces during ongoing nationwide protests,” Oslo-based IHR said in a statement posted on its website.
The latest toll represents an increase of 22 since the rights group published its previous figures on November 5.
It includes at least 123 people killed in Sistan-Balochistan province on Iran’s southeastern border with Pakistan, a figure that is also up from 118 in IHR’s latest tally.
Most of them were killed on September 30 when security forces opened fire on protesters after Friday prayers in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Balochistan – a massacre that activists have dubbed “Bloody Friday”. .
These demonstrations were triggered by the alleged grated custody of a 15-year-old girl by a police commander in the provincial port town of Chabahar.
Analysts say the Baluchi were inspired by the protests that erupted after Amini’s death, which were initially motivated by women’s rights but over time have expanded to include other grievances.
IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam called on the international community to act quickly to end the crackdown.
“The establishment of an international investigation and accountability mechanism by the UN will both facilitate the process of holding perpetrators accountable in the future and increase the cost of the Islamic Republic’s continued repression,” he said. he said in the statement.
Another rights group, Amnesty International, also called for such a mechanism, which it said was backed by a petition signed by more than a million people.
IHR said it was still investigating reports of other deaths, meaning the true number killed “is definitely higher.”
The Islamic republic has been gripped by protests that erupted after Amini’s death on September 16, three days after he was arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.
The protests were stoked by fury over dress rules for women, but have blossomed into a broad movement against the theocracy that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution.
“At least 326 people, including 43 children and 25 women, have been killed by security forces during ongoing nationwide protests,” Oslo-based IHR said in a statement posted on its website.
The latest toll represents an increase of 22 since the rights group published its previous figures on November 5.
It includes at least 123 people killed in Sistan-Balochistan province on Iran’s southeastern border with Pakistan, a figure that is also up from 118 in IHR’s latest tally.
Most of them were killed on September 30 when security forces opened fire on protesters after Friday prayers in Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Balochistan – a massacre that activists have dubbed “Bloody Friday”. .
These demonstrations were triggered by the alleged grated custody of a 15-year-old girl by a police commander in the provincial port town of Chabahar.
Analysts say the Baluchi were inspired by the protests that erupted after Amini’s death, which were initially motivated by women’s rights but over time have expanded to include other grievances.
IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam called on the international community to act quickly to end the crackdown.
“The establishment of an international investigation and accountability mechanism by the UN will both facilitate the process of holding perpetrators accountable in the future and increase the cost of the Islamic Republic’s continued repression,” he said. he said in the statement.
Another rights group, Amnesty International, also called for such a mechanism, which it said was backed by a petition signed by more than a million people.
IHR said it was still investigating reports of other deaths, meaning the true number killed “is definitely higher.”
