Tehran: Protests raged across Iran for the sixth day in a row, while death toll rises daily during unrest over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.
Iran Human Rights Organization confirming on Thursday that at least 31 civilians have been killed since the protests erupted in Iran six days ago.
22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who came to Tehran with her family from Saqqaz, was arrested on Tuesday, September 13, near the Martyr Haqqani metro station, by the morality police patrol who took her away for a guidance lesson over her improper hijab.
She was then assaulted in the police van while being driven to a detention center for a “re-education lesson”.
Amini, fell into a coma shortly after collapsing in a detention center before she was pronounced dead on Friday, September 16.
Iranians reacted quickly to Mahsa’s issue since she entered Kisri Hospital, in the center of the capital, and interest in her increased as she lay on the hospital bed, battling death, until her death was announced on Friday evening.
The protests began on Saturday during Amini’s funeral in the Kurdish region, and are still continuing in most parts of the country, sparking confrontations as the security forces sought to suppress the demonstrations.
In continuation of the protests on Wednesday, dozens of large Iranian cities such as Tehran, Tabriz, Mashhad and Hamedan, in addition to the Kurdish cities, rose up, and tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets, chanting against the regime and demanding its departure.
Protests spread to other cities, amid scenes of hit-and-run, and violence against male and female protesters, as well as the police using tear gas and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators.
The use of weapons was also seen, and shooting was heard in some gatherings.
Meanwhile, Mehr News Agency reported on Wednesday, that for the first time, women’s special unit forces were used to suppress demonstrators in the current protests.
US sanctions Iran’s morality police
On Thursday, United States announced the imposition of economic sanctions on the Iranian morality police and several security officials for their “violence against demonstrators”, as well as against the background of the death of the young woman, Amini.
Extensive clashes with security and the escape of forces
Most of the cities witnessed widespread clashes with the security forces, and the demonstrators burned several police buses and ambulances that the security forces used to travel to hide among the demonstrators, or the detainees were transferred to detention centers.
The videos also showed the security forces fleeing from several places after they were pelted with stones by the demonstrators, while the protesters in the city of “Amal”, in northern Iran, set fire to the building of the mayor of the city.
Iran limits the ability to use Instagram, Whatsapp
Iran has limited the ability to use applications such as Instagram, Whatsapp in a move to cover up what is happening in the country.
Data from London-based NetBlocks revealed that Iran on Wednesday, “nation-scale loss of connectivity” on Iran’s main mobile telephone provider and another company’s network.
Women are the backbone of the protests
It is noteworthy that women protestors topped the scene in Iran after some women set their headscarves on fire, chopped off their hair during demonstrations against the imposition of the hijab, as part of the escalating protests over the death of Mahsa Amini.
In Sari, north of the capital, Tehran, crowds of demonstrators chanted in support of some of the female demonstrators who set their headscarves on fire, as a kind of protest.
On Wednesday, the Iranian Tasnim news agency reported that a policeman in the eastern city of Mashhad was burned suspiciously, noting that a number of other protesters had put out the fire, but the policeman suffered serious burns.
On Saturday, September 17, a video showed female demonstrators taking off their headscarves, chanting “Death to the dictator”, a slogan referring to the Supreme Leader, while others chanted the slogan “Freedom, justice” and “No to compulsory hijab.”
Continuous international interaction over Mahsa Amini death
Mahsa Amini incident also witnessed an international interaction, whether by countries, international organizations, personalities and artists.
Several statements and positions emerged from the US administration, which condemned the incident, as well as condemnations from the European Union, European countries, the United Nations and other parties.
United Nations expressed its concern about the violent response of the security forces” to the protesters over the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, in Iran, following her arrest by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, in a tweet, on Monday, that “Mahsa should have been alive today. But the United States and the Iranian people are in their condolences.” “We call on the Iranian government to end the systematic oppression of women and allow peaceful protest,” he added.
Bella Hadid, the famous American model, expressed her sympathy with the Amini family and posted a picture of this girl on her page in the “Instagram” application, and wrote that Mahsa Amini did not deserve such a death.
American actress, Sharon Stone, posted a video clip on her story on “Instagram” for an interview with Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad, with CNN, and commented: “Please keep your hands off our bodies.”
J.K. Rowling, the British writer and author of the Harry Potter series, retweeted a video of journalist Masih Alinejad showing Iranian women cutting their hair or burning their headscarves in protest of the compulsory veil, and Rowling wrote, “This is the real courage.”
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi contacted Mahsa Amini’s family, expressing his condolences and promising investigations to clarify the dimensions of the incident.
On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, in a tweet, rejected the American statements, saying, “An order has been issued to open an investigation into Mahsa’s tragic death, who, as the president said, was like our daughters,” accusing the United States of using human rights as a “tool.” against opponents.
Amir Abdullahian called on Washington to “end economic terrorism (sanctions) instead of shedding crocodile tears.”
