Demonstrations in Solidarity With Iranian Women Held Around the Globe
In biggest wave of protests against the government in years, protesters took to the streets more than a week ago across Iran, angered by the death of Mahsa Amini
Iranians took to the streets for a ninth consecutive night Sunday to protest the death earlier this month of Mahsa Amini while in the custody of Tehran’s morality police. Other protests, being held in solidarity with Iranian women, have taken place around the globe, in such cities as Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Istanbul, Madrid, New York and Paris, among others. Demonstrations first erupted September 17, at the funeral of Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died a day earlier while in detention of police enforcing the Islamic Republic's strict restrictions on women's dress. She was arrested September 13 for allegedly breaking Iran’s strict hijab rules. Amini's family allege she was beaten in the police van after her arrest, suffering several blows to the head. Police reject the allegations, saying Amini died after being taken to a hospital because she had suffered a heart attack. Iran’s state television says 41 people have been killed during protests. Late Sunday, Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) was circulating images showing protesters on the streets of Tehran, shouting "death to the dictator," purportedly after nightfall Sunday, according to Agence France-Presse. IHR said Iran’s rolling internet blackouts were making it difficult to verify fatalities and protests, AFP reported. Witnesses told AFP that protests were ongoing in several locations. Video footage showed demonstrations in Tabriz and Shiraz, among other places, with women removing their headscarves and protesters shouting against the authorities. IHR also reported Sunday, according to AFP, that an umbrella of the main Iranian teachers unions were calling for teachers and students to stage the first national strike since the unrest began, boycotting classes Monday and Wednesday in support of the protests. Pro-government rallies were also held Sunday in several cities across Iran, with the main event taking place in Enghelab (Revolution) Square in central Tehran, where demonstrators voiced support for mandatory hijab laws, AFP reported. The semi-official Fars news agency reported Sunday that a member of the Basij, a volunteer force with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, was killed by protesters late Saturday in Tehran. While the state-run IRNA news agency said another Basij member, who had been in a coma since Thursday after street clashes, died in Urmia, West Azerbaijan province Sunday. A Molotov cocktail bomb was thrown against the Iranian embassy in Athens, Greek police said Sunday. Police said there was no damage caused, the Athens News Agency reported. A day earlier, about 200 people gathered at Syntagma Square in downtown Athens to denounce Iran's crackdown on protests, AFP reported. In London on Sunday, violent street demonstrations erupted outside the Iranian embassy. Protesters, trying to break through barriers protecting Iran’s U.K. embassy, threw rocks at police, authorities said, according to The Associated Press. Five protesters were arrested, police said. Police in Paris used tear gas and employed anti-riot tactics Sunday to prevent hundreds of people from marching on Tehran's embassy, AFP reporters and eyewitnesses said. About 4,000 protesters had gathered for a second day in Paris to protest the death of Amini. The demonstration began peacefully at Trocadero Square in the center of the capital, Paris. Some demonstrators chanted "Death to the Islamic Republic" and slogans against the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. One woman in the crowd also held up a sign reading in French, "I am Mahsa Amini." However, as protesters neared the Iranian embassy, police in full anti-riot armor, backed by a line of vans, blocked their path. Police fired tear gas to disperse the protesters.