Berlin, Sept 30, (dpa/GNA) – Fifty-two people have died in clashes with security forces during recent anti-government protests in Iran, according to human rights organization Amnesty International.
Hundreds more were injured, Amnesty said on Friday. Iranian state media had previously reported more than 40 deaths, but the number dead is widely thought to be higher. The government had also said members of the security forces had been killed.
Iran is clamping down on nationwide protests, in the wake of the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for violating the country’s strict dress code for women.
Mahsa Amini died on September 16 at age 22. The cause of her death remains unknown.
Critics accuse the morality police of brutality. The police deny the accusations, and the Interior Ministry has said they were not to blame, claiming she died of heart failure at the police station.
Since her death, hundreds of thousands of people have been demonstrating across the country. Witnesses in the capital have said both security forces and protesters, have become increasingly violent.
In response, the government has severely restricted internet access, making it difficult to establish what is happening on the ground.
“Amnesty International has the names of 52 women, men and children who were killed by the state security forces,” the organization said.
Amnesty also has a copy of a leaked document that shows that on September 21, the armed forces’ general headquarters had already instructed commanders in all provinces to take tough action on demonstrators.
The order described them as “troublemakers and opponents of the revolution.” The order proves that the escalation of violence and the use of live ammunition is systematic, and a deliberate strategy of the Iranian leadership, Amnesty said.
Thousands have been demonstrating across the country against the government’s repressive course and the Islamic system.
Amnesty said, “the international community must act immediately and decisively to prevent more people from being killed and injured, simply for taking to the streets for their freedom, dignity and human rights.”
GNA