The demonstrations in Iran started after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died in an encounter with the Iranian morality police last Friday. She was stopped because she allegedly wore the hijab the wrong way. The death sparked protests where women cut off their hair and burned their hijabs in protest. People also took to the streets and shouted slogans against the regime. The protests quickly spread to several other cities in the country. The head of Iran Human Rights (IHR) in Norway, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, says they have never seen such great anger against the regime. – Iran Human Rights has followed the situation in Iran for over 15 years. We have had protests in the past too, but we have never seen so much anger. There are brave, young people who stand empty-handed against armed soldiers, but they don’t give up, he says to news. At least 26 people are said to have lost their lives in the demonstrations, reports the AP news agency, citing Iranian state TV. Unrest over the situation Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi says according to AFP that Amini’s death will be investigated to find out what happened, but Amiry-Moghaddam does not think anyone will be held accountable for what happened. – Iranian authorities do what they want with the people. No one is held accountable, he says. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam of Iran Human Rights in Norway believes that the authorities in Iran feel the pressure. Photo: PETTER BERNTSEN / AFP The governing authorities in Iran have in recent days placed strong restrictions on the internet and social media. This makes it difficult to get a picture and information about what is going on, says the IHR. – That makes it possible for the regime to kill even more. The last time it happened, in November 2019, according to reports, up to 1,500 people were killed in the course of three or four days, says Amiry-Moghaddam. Asking the international community to get involved The Iranian army says in a statement on Friday that it will do what it believes is necessary to ensure security and peace in the country, reports Reuters. The army says the demonstrations are part of a vicious strategy to weaken the regime. Demonstrations in support of the regime are scheduled to be organized on Friday, state media reports. The IHR believes that the Iranian authorities are now feeling the pressure, and that they are doing what they can to prevent the protests from spreading further. They therefore believe it is important that the international community shows support. – If the international community steps up and shows support for what the Iranians want, it will increase the political price of the repression. Change must come from within, and people in Iran want change, we hear that in the slogan, says Amiry-Moghaddam. Condemns the government Earlier this week, Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap) said that the protests were a strong signal to the Iranian authorities that many Iranians experience the hijab mandate and its enforcement as an assault on individual freedom. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has also condemned the attack on demonstrators in Iran. – We stand together with the brave women in Iran. An attack on them is also an attack on the human race, she told reporters during the UN General Assembly, according to AFP. The US has also put Iran’s morality police on the sanctions list after Amini died in their custody, reports the news agency. They say they imposed sanctions because of abuse and violence against Iranian women and violated the human rights of peaceful Iranian protesters.
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Large protests against the regime in Iran – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
