Tehran: Iranian children were not spared the brutality of the security authorities, as 23 children between the ages of 11 and 17 were killed in the last 10 days of September during protests in Iran.
The human rights organization Amnesty International on Friday said in a report that Iranian security forces killed 23 children as part of their campaign to suppress protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.
The protests, described by Amnesty International as a broader uprising against the Islamic Republic’s regime, have horrified security officials who have used intimidation since the first day of the demonstrations.
In a detailed statement, the organization listed the names and circumstances surrounding the killing of 23 children as a result of the use of illegal force during the protests from September 20 to September 30, 2022.
Most of them were killed by security forces who illegally fired live bullets at them, according to the report, while two were killed after being shot with metal balls at close range, while three girls and a child died after being beaten by security forces.
The Amnesty report stated that, children represent 16 per cent of the total deaths of protesters.
In addition, Amnesty International clarified that 10 children were killed in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, 5 children in Tehran, 4 children in West Azerbaijan, and one child each in Alborz, Kermanshah, Kohkiluyeh, Boyer Ahmad, and Zanjan Provinces.
“Iran’s security forces have killed nearly two dozen children in an attempt to crush the spirit of resistance among the country’s courageous youth. If the international community were a person, how would it look these children and their parents in the eye? It would lower its head in shame over its inaction against the pervasive impunity enjoyed by the Iranian authorities for their systematic crimes and gross violations of human rights.”
Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.
Amnesty International has also documented the killing of at least 144 people between September 19 and October 3 during the Iranian people’s uprising against the Iranian regime.
This prompted the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to say it was “extremely concerned” by reports of “the killing, wounding and arrest of children and adolescents” in Iran.
Iran demonstrations: Video shows Iranian forces firing from truck at fleeing people
A video footage of Iranian security forces firing a rifle mounted on the back of a pickup truck at fleeing people went viral.
In the clip, which was verified by BBC Persian service, shots can be heard as the car chases people in Baneh, Kurdistan province.
Killed, detained and threatened
Since September 16, the Islamic Republic has witnessed protests following the death of 22-year-old Amini, three days after she was arrested by the morality police for not adhering to strict dress codes.
The demonstrations involving people from all walks of life and different sects in Iran after Amini’s killing.
The protests over the death of Mahsa Amini entered a fifth week on Friday night, October 14, in defiance of a bloody crackdown.
Iranian women are at the fore in the demonstrations, in which many young people participate, to chants of “Woman life freedom” and “Death to the dictator.”
Despite the authorities severely restricting access to the Internet in an effort to control the protests, young Iranians were able to broadcast scenes of the demonstrations on popular applications such as Tik Tok and Instagram.
Dozens died on the sidelines of these protests, including members of the security forces, and the authorities announced the arrest of hundreds for their involvement in protests.
The protests represent one of the boldest challenges facing the country since the 1979 revolution.
