Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Wednesday again played down the strength of the protests that have been taking place in the country for nearly a month. The ayatollah described them as “dispersed riots”, the Tasnim news agency reported.
“These riots are the enemy’s clumsy project against the great and innovative developments of the Iranian nation,” he said, amid rallies that carry pictures of him as a dictator and question the establishment of the theocratic regime.
The mobilization led by women began after the death of the young Kurdish Mahsa Amini, 22, on the 16th. in the country.
Amini was taken to the hospital shortly after arriving at the police station. The regime alleges that her death was due to heart problems, a version contested by her family and activists, for whom she was attacked.
The regime’s repression of protesters has been condemned by the international community. According to the NGO Human Rights of Iran, based in Oslo, Norway, at least 201 civilians died in the protests, including 23 under the age of 18.
The organization draws attention to the situation in the province of Kurdistan, the birthplace of Mahsa Amini, where there is already a history of discrimination against locals, and says that the internet connection in the place was partially cut to try to stifle the protests.
In other areas of the country, some protesters distributed pamphlets with the phrase “be the voice of Sanandaj”, in reference to the city that is the capital of the province in the western part of the country and where the regime’s security forces have been accused of attacking the civilian population. .
Amnesty International, an NGO, said it was alarmed by reports it had gathered about security agents using firearms and tear gas indiscriminately, including in the homes of residents of Sanandaj.
“To hide their crimes, the Iranian authorities continue to cut off the internet and mobile phone networks,” he said in a tweet. “Countries should immediately increase their level of pressure with Iranian ambassadors and demand that they immediately end the repression and respect the right to freedom of peaceful protest.”
The movement that questions the theocratic regime in force in the country is already considered the biggest since 2019 mobilizations linked to the price of gasoline and one of the most important since the 1979 Revolution.
In recent weeks, it was further boosted by the participation of young school and university students. “Woman, life and freedom” and “death to the dictator” are some of the slogans shouted in the streets during acts that have women on the front lines.
Also according to the NGO Human Rights of Iran, one of the teenagers killed by the repression was Sarina Esmailzadeh, 16, from the city of Karaj. On September 22, she reportedly went to an act together with friends after leaving English class. Security forces then allegedly beat her over the head repeatedly, until she died.
The official version, even televised by official channels, however, states that Sarina committed suicide. According to the Oslo-based NGO, the family was forced to corroborate the speech.
This week, sectors of the economy joined the mobilization. On Monday (10), workers from three major oil refineries went on strike. Some even blocked roads and shouted phrases like “death to the dictator”. Eleven were arrested on Tuesday (11), but the shutdowns continue, according to local media reports.
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