Iran protests: 76 dead as repression gets worse  

• Activists claim that over the 11 days of protests that were started by the death of a lady in jail, Iranian security forces had killed at least 76 protestors.
• A group called Iran Human Rights (IHR) with offices in Norway charged that the government had suppressed the dissent with excessive force and live bullets.
• She was allegedly in violation of the harsh law mandating women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf.

Activists claim that over the 11 days of protests that were started by the death of a lady in jail, Iranian security forces had killed at least 76 protestors.

A group called Iran Human Rights (IHR) with offices in Norway charged that the government had suppressed the dissent with excessive force and live bullets.

According to state media, there were 41 fatalities, including numerous security personnel, and “rioters” were to blame.

Additionally, hundreds of people, including 20 journalists, have been detained.

Director of IHR Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam stated, “The risk of torture and other cruel treatment of protestors is severe, and the use of live ammunition against protesters is an international crime.” “The world must stand up for the fundamental rights that the Iranian people are demanding.”

The aggressive response from the police also raised serious concerns from the UN human rights office, which encouraged them to respect the right to peaceful protest.

Since Mahsa Amini’s burial on September 17, the anti-government protests have extended to over 80 Iranian cities and towns.

On September 13, morality police officials detained a 22-year-old Kurdish lady from the northwestern city of Saqez when she was in Tehran. She was allegedly in violation of the harsh law mandating women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf.

After being brought to a correctional facility to be “educated,” she collapsed and spent three days in a coma before passing away in the hospital.

Police claimed that Ms. Amini’s abrupt heart failure caused her to pass away, but her family disputes this and claims that she was actually beaten by police.

Her death sparked immediate demonstrations against the morality police and the hijab law, which swiftly turned into the most significant threat to Iran’s Shia Muslim religious establishment in recent memory.

Women have been seen in social media videos cutting their hair in public and burning their headscarves on bonfires while being applauded and chanted phrases such as “Women, life, freedom” and “Death to the dictator”—a reference to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Tehran and a number of other towns, including Yazd in the country’s center and Tabriz and Sanandaj in the north-west, were reported as having protests. Additionally, more than 20 colleges saw strikes and teacher walkouts by students and staff.

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