Iranian authorities have released a toll of more than 300 deaths in protests registered in the country since mid-September, following the arrest and death of young Mahsa Amini, accused of violating the strict female dress code in the country.
The death during arrest on September 16 of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, sparked a wave of demonstrations in Tehran and in several provinces of the country. The protests were repressed with great violence by the security forces.
“I don’t have the most recent data, but I believe we had perhaps more than 300 martyrs and people killed among the best young people in this country as a result of this incident,” said General Amirali Hajizadeh, referring to the security forces and demonstrators. , commander of the Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force, Iran’s elite army, in a video released by the Mehr agency.
The number includes dozens of police, soldiers and militiamen killed in clashes with protesters or murdered, according to Iranian authorities.
At the same time, the Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights claims that the “repression of protests in Iran” has left at least 416 dead.
This number includes those killed in the violence registered after the protests over the death of Amini, as well as the fatalities in the disturbances that occurred in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan (southeast of the country).
In this Sunni-majority province – the rest of the country has a Shiite majority – demonstrations took place at the end of September after the news of the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl by a policeman was released. The protests were also violently repressed, according to Iran Human Rights.
In demonstrations over the death of Mahsa Amini, thousands of Iranians and nearly 40 foreigners were detained, and more than 2,000 people indicted, according to judicial authorities.
Among the defendants, six were sentenced to death in the first instance and their fate now depends on the Supreme Court, which must rule on appeals.
More than 1,100 people released
Since the 1979 Islamic revolution, all women have been required by law to cover their hair in public with a veil and to wear clothing considered discreet. The morality police patrol the streets to verify compliance with this rule.
Over the past two decades, however, many women have not covered their hair in Tehran and other major cities in Iran.
The death of Mahsa Amini provoked great indignation among the population. And the effects were even felt at the World Cup in Qatar, where the players of the Iranian national team did not sing the national anthem in last week’s match against England (6-2 defeat), as a form of protest.
This Tuesday, Iran faces the selection of the United States in Doha in search of the classification for the round of 16 of the World Cup, in a third round match of Group B with a great political weight.
At the same time, Iranian justice announced the release of more than 1,100 detainees following Friday’s victory (2-0) by the Iranian national team against Wales.
“Following an order from the head of the judiciary following the victory of the national team, 1,156 detainees have been released from prisons in 20 provinces across the country,” the Judicial Authority agency, Mizan Online, reported on Tuesday. The statement states that the number includes people detained during the recent protests.
On Monday, the same agency had reported that 709 people had been released.
