At least 50 people have been killed in the violent crackdown on protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, human rights activists say. Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) organization said on Friday that six people had been shot dead by security forces in Resvanshahr in Iran’s northern Gilan province.
Iran, meanwhile, said it would crack down on anti-government protesters. The Iranian military will take on the enemy to ensure security in the country, the army said Friday.
The journalist of the reform newspaper “Shargh”, Nilufar Hamedi, has been arrested in the Iranian capital Tehran for being one of the first to publicize the case of Iranian Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody.
As the newspaper reported, two other reporters, a photographer and a political activist, were arrested in connection with the protests in addition to Hamedi. They are said to be in the infamous Ewin prison in the capital Tehran.
Pro-government officials call for death penalty for protesters
The Iranian military said the demonstrations were part of the enemy’s diabolical strategy to weaken the Islamic Republic. On Friday, pro-government protesters called for the death penalty for those responsible for the protests over the past few days. “Answers of the Quran must be carried out,” the crowd chanted during a march reported on state television. Regime-critical protesters who protested state power a week after the young woman’s death were dubbed “Israel’s soldiers.”
In the capital Tehran, many people demonstrated for wearing the headscarf on Friday, after an appeal from the authorities, state news agency IRNA reported. During the counter-protest, participants thanked the security forces and condemned women who had burned their headscarves.
The earlier protests were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Iranian Amini. She was arrested by the Morality Police just over a week ago for violating the strict Islamic dress code. What exactly happened to Amini after her arrest is unclear. Anyway, she went into a coma and died in a hospital on Friday. Critics accuse the morality police of using force. The police deny the charges.
The protests started in the predominantly Kurdish northwest of the country, where Amini is from, and quickly spread to other parts of Iran, including the capital. The Kurdish human rights organization Hengaw reported 15 dead and more than 700 injured. On Thursday alone, Iranian media reported 280 arrests.
The government responded with internet blocking
The Iranian government responded by blocking the internet. She apparently fears the protests could reach the proportions of 2019. At the time, 1,500 people were killed, the worst since the Islamic Republic’s founding in 1979. President Ebrahim Raisi said on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York that he had launched an investigation into the deaths of Mahsa Amini.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
