The human rights organization said more than 75 people were killed in Iranian authorities’ crackdown on protesters following Mahsa Amini’s death in custody as Western countries stepped up pressure on the Islamic Republic to stop the violence.
The semi-official Fars news agency said Tuesday that “about sixty” people had been killed, after the official death toll released by Iranian authorities was still at 41 as of Saturday.
Demonstrators took to the streets again on Monday night, as they have done every night since Amini’s death on September 16, after she was arrested by the “vice police” for violating the hijab.
In Sanandaj, the capital of western Iran’s Kurdistan Province, where Amini is from, women climbed on top of cars to rip headscarves in front of a cheering crowd in scenes released by the Oslo-based Iranian human rights organization that do not show the presence of police at the scene.
Protesters in Tehran chanted slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 83, and chanted “Death to the dictator”.
According to footage released by the Iranian Human Rights Organization, a video from one of the upper floors, believed to be from the city of Tabriz, shows people demonstrating as security forces used tear gas canisters to disperse them.
The non-governmental organization said 76 people were killed in the crackdown, leading to severe online restrictions, including the blocking of Instagram and WhatsApp.
Officials said Monday they have arrested more than 1,200 people. Among those transferred to the pre-trial detention center were activists, lawyers, journalists and demonstrators.
The official Iranian news agency quoted Health Minister Bahram Aynollahi as accusing the demonstrators of destroying 72 ambulances.
Activists outside of Iran say authorities are using ambulances to transport security forces.
IRNA reported on Tuesday that “rioters” have killed 10 security personnel in recent days.
The suppression of the women-led protests drew condemnation from around the world.
On Tuesday, Freedom House joined other think tanks in criticizing Iran, calling on “other governments to support these brave protesters and hold Iranian officials accountable for their violations.”
Tension with the West
Tensions between the Islamic Republic and Western countries have risen as Paris on Monday expressed “the strongest condemnation of the brutal crackdown by the Iranian security apparatus against ongoing demonstrations” in Iran, while Germany summoned the Iranian ambassador.
A day earlier, the European Union condemned the “disproportionate and widespread” use of force, and Tehran withdrew the British and Norwegian ambassadors.
“We call on the international community to take concrete and joint practical steps to stop the killing and torture of protesters,” said Mahmoud Amiri-Moghadam, director of human rights in Iran, adding that videos and death certificates obtained by the organization show that “ firing live ammunition directly at the demonstrators.”
Police officers with shields beat protesters with batons, and students tore up large photographs of the Supreme Leader and his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, according to recent AFP footage.
The demonstrators threw stones at police officers and set fire to police cars and government buildings.
According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, at least 20 journalists were arrested.
peoples’ demands
The head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, stressed the “need for merciless treatment” of the instigators of the “riots”.
But prominent Iranian religious authority Hossein Nouri al-Hamdani, an ally of the ultra-conservative camp, called on the authorities of the Islamic Republic on Monday to “listen to the people.”
“Leaders must listen to people’s needs, address their concerns and care for their rights,” a statement posted on its website said.
The crackdown on demonstrations drew condemnation from Western governments, eclipsing international efforts to revive the nuclear deal between Iran and the major powers that former US President Donald Trump pulled out of in 2018.
The European Union has criticized Iran and said “the disproportionate use of force against demonstrators is unacceptable and unjustified,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement.
Borrell said the European Union “will continue to explore all available options until the next meeting of foreign ministers regarding the death of Mahsa Amini and how Iranian security forces are responding to the demonstrations that followed” in the country that imposed the sanctions. against him because of his nuclear program.
Last week, the United States imposed sanctions on Iran’s vice police, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday his country would do the same in a package of sanctions “on dozens of individuals and entities.”
