Demonstrations, repression, arrests even of students in Iran… of rights and… freedoms
The president Ibrahim Raisi said today that the Islamic Republic guarantees rights and freedoms, defending the ruling system amid a crackdown on anti-government protests that the United Nations says has killed at least 300 people.
Meanwhile, a top state security body said 200 people, including members of the security forces, had died in the unrest, a figure significantly lower than the UN and rights groups put forward.
The protests, now in their third month, have erupted after the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish origin Makhsa Amini while in custody by the morality police who enforce the strict hijab dress code.
The protests turned into a popular uprising of angry Iranians of all walks of life, posing one of the biggest threats to the country’s religious leadership since the 1979 Revolution.
Despite the brutal crackdown, protesters chant slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and call for an end to the Islamic government.
Authorities blame the insurgency on foreign enemies, including the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
“Iran has the most progressive Constitution in the world” because it combines “ideals with democracy,” Raisi said in a speech to lawmakers, quoting an unnamed African lawyer he met several years ago.
“The Constitution guarantees the existence of the Islamic system,” he said, adding that it also “guarantees basic rights and legal freedoms.”
According to the Judiciary’s Mizan news website, the Interior Ministry’s State Security Council said 200 people had died in the recent “riots”.
Amirali Hadjizadeh, high-ranking commander of the Revolutionary Guards said on Monday that 300 people, including members of the security forces, had been killed in the recent unrest.
Javaid Rehman, an independent UN-appointed expert on Iran, said on Tuesday that at least 300 people had been killed in the protests, including at least 40 children.
Human rights group HRANA said that by Friday, 469 protesters had been killed, including 64 minors. It also said 61 members of government security forces were killed. Up to 18,210 protesters have reportedly been arrested.
A prominent Sunni cleric, Molawi Abdulhamid, called for an end to the crackdown on protests through arrests and killings, and for a referendum to change Iran’s system of government.
“The people’s protest has shown that the policies of the last 43 years have reached an impasse,” he said in late November.
RES-EMP
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With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
