Iran International
Amnesty International has reiterated its calls for urgent global action, warning of further bloodshed in Iran amid a deliberately imposed Internet blackout.
“UN member states must go beyond toothless statements, hear the cries for justice from victims and human rights defenders in Iran and urgently set up an independent UN investigative mechanism,” said Heba Morayef, Middle East and North Africa Director at Amnesty International.
Amnesty said evidence it had gathered this week of fresh violence in 20 cities and 10 provinces across Iran points to a “harrowing pattern of Iranian security forces deliberately and unlawfully firing live ammunition at protesters.”
According to the organization, on the night of 21 September alone, shootings by security forces, consisting of Revolutionary Guard agents, paramilitary Basij forces and plainclothes security officials, left at least 19 people dead, including at least three children.
“Amnesty International has reviewed photos and videos showing deceased victims with horrifying wounds in their heads, chests and stomachs,” the organization said adding that the rising death toll is an alarming indication of just “how ruthless the authorities’ assault on human life has been under the darkness of the internet shutdown.”
An Iranian security agent aims and fires his assault rifle at protesters
Iran's state-run television Friday evening reported a death toll of 35 protesters and security forces but according to Iran Human Rights (IHR), a rights group, at least 50 protesters were killed in various cities and towns across the country since protests started last week. Several videos published on social media show security forces directly aiming at protesters with shotguns or rifles.
Authorities have resorted to what global Internet watchdog NetBlocks has called “curfew-style cellular network disruptions” to interrupt contact among protesters and leaking of footage from the protests. they have also restricted Instagram, WhatsApp, and LinkedIn at the national level.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces in a statement Saturday praised security forces’ “patience” but warned that they will no longer tolerate “any violence or insecurity” and would “take decisive action against those who disrupt public order and security”.
Security forces have extensively arrested protesters as well as dozens of activists and journalists including photojournalist Yalda Moaieri, journalist Fatemeh Rajabi, and Niloofar Hamedi, a journalist with the Shargh daily who was first to report Mahsa Amini’s case from a hospital in Tehran where she was taken after collapsing at a detention facility.
Officials, including President Ebrahim Raisi, and state media insist there will be a probe into the young girl’s death and claim those on the streets are “thugs” and “rioters” who have “hijacked” protesrs over her death to push their own agenda. The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) has warned protesters and attributed the protests to “enemy plots” carried out by “anti-revolutionaries”.
Authorities mobilized supporters to stage demonstrations after Friday prayers and claimed “millions of Iranians” took part, but eyewitnesses claim supporters’ numbers were so small that the state television had to resort to images from previous years in its broadcasts. At least in one image shown on television the date on a banner belonged to several years ago.
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At the same time, a few members of the parliament and have admitted that dress code enforcement by Iran's hijab patrols (nicknamed by foreign media as morality police) has been problematic.
Karim Hosseini, a member of parliament (Majles) has said that the government should not ignore Mahsa Amini's death in custody that triggered the protests, with the pretext of defending the police force. Shahryar Heidari, a member of the Majles National Security Committee also said that the government should stop the hijab police's activities adding that the police force should not be used to clamp down on "bad hijab".
Meanwhie, Seminarian Ayatollah Ali Akbar Massoudi Khomeyni has told reporters that "the hijab police's treatment of Iranian woman is against the teachings of Islam," adding that "Only judges can rule about the hijab, but even they cannot tell a woman that your hijab is not consistent with the dress code and punish them." This comes while protesters’ demands have gone far beyond their grievances about hijab and apparently, they will not settle for anything less than a regime change.
However, hardliner Friday prayers Imams in various cities, who receive their marching orders from a central office controlled by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, insisted in their sermons that the hijab police should remain in place with permission to use force against women.
The firebrand Friday Prayers imam of Mashad, Ahmad Alamolhoda said: "Hijab is the most important issue in Islam. The enemies of Islam wish to promote a lifestyle without hijab." He charged that previous governments have ignored the importance of hijab but added that "since 2006 some 20 organizations have been established in Iran to promote the idea of hijab." Meanwhile, he praised the police force as the pivot of the authority of the regime for upholding hijab," without mentioning the murder of Mahsa Amini.
Alamolhoda said in his sermon that "women's hair corrupts young men just as half-naked women can do."
In Tehran, Ahmad Khatami who led the prayers on Friday, criticized monarchists and the supporters of Mojadein-e Khalq organization for "supporting a woman," meaning hijab victim Mahsa Amini. Meanwhile, Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib attributed the protests against Amini’s killing to "the enemies" without making clear who the enemies were. However, his statement was vague and general, as he deliberately tried not to make any categoric assertions before Khamenei expresses his opinion about the nationwide protests.
Commenting on the situation, Tourism Minister Ezzatollah Zarghami reassured the government and supporters of the hijab police in a September 23 tweet that "revising some of the laws and inefficient approaches" that have annoyed the protesters "will not lead to a domino-like collapse of the regime."
Reformist analyst Mohammad Reza Tajik commented that the protests over police brutality have revealed the naked image of the regime. Tajik wrote that although the government will come up with some superficial solutions, trying to keep the foundations of the regime in place, wide gaps have emerged in Iranian society that make it difficult to conceal the crisis.
Tajik stressed that the current situation is dangerous as there is no serious sign to indicate that the regime has understood the situation, and there seems to be no determination to address the root causes of the crisis.