The protests, which were concentrated in Iran’s Kurdish–populated northwestern regions but have spread to at least 50 cities and towns nationwide, are the largest since a wave of demonstrations in 2019 over gasoline price rises, as reported by the news agency Reuters.
Reports from Kurdish rights group Hengaw, which Reuters could not verify, said 10 protesters had been killed. Three died on Wednesday, adding to the seven people the group said had been killed by security forces.
Officials have denied that security forces have killed protesters, suggesting they may have been shot by armed dissidents.
With no sign of the protests easing, authorities restricted access to the internet, according to accounts from Hengaw, residents, and internet shutdown observatory NetBlocks.
The demonstrations erupted after 22 years old woman’s death after she was arrested in Tehran for «unsuitable attire».
The mandatory dress code, which applies to all nationalities and religions, not just Iranian Muslims, requires women to conceal their hair and neck with a headscarf and wear a loose tunic or coat over their clothes.
According to the broadcaster Al Jazeer, 22 years old Mahsa Amini, has died after falling into a coma following her detention by Iran’s morality police.
22 years old woman had come to Tehran, from her hometown of Saqqez in Kurdistan province, with her family when she was detained by the specialist police unit that enforces the strict dress code that was made obligatory for women shortly after the Islamic revolution of 1979.
Amini’s death has sparked sparking fury on social media. Videos shared on social media have shown demonstrators damaging symbols of the Islamic Republic and confronting security forces.
in Tehran, hundreds shouted «death to the dictator» at Tehran University.
President Ebrahim Raisi ordered the interior minister to open an inquiry into the case.
Several lawmakers said they would raise the case in parliament, while the judiciary said it would form a special task force to investigate.
Amini’s death unleashed anger over issues including freedoms in the Islamic Republic and an economy reeling from sanctions. Women have played a prominent role in the protests, waving and burning their veils, with some cutting their hair in public, informs Reuters.