Opposition accuses police
Iranian killed by headshot at demonstration
08/10/2022, 21:28
In Iran, the protests against the mullahs’ regime continue – and another person dies. A man is shot in the head in the west of the country. Protesters blame the police, which they deny.
A motorist was shot in the head during a demonstration in the western Iranian city of Sanandaj. Officials and critics of the country’s leadership have given conflicting information about the incident. According to the local police chief, the man was killed by a demonstrator. The protesters’ claims that the driver was shot by security forces were unfounded, the police chief said, according to the Tasnim news agency.
Supporters of the protests said on social media that the man in his car honked his horn as a sign of solidarity with the protests and was therefore shot in the head by police. The security forces acted worse than the terrorist group Islamic State, according to some posts. Pictures of the driver who was killed were also shared on social media.
The protests that have been going on for weeks following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody have continued across the country. According to reports by Iranian news agencies, there were violent clashes with the police in several cities, including the capital Tehran. She is said to have not only used tear gas against the demonstrators, but also shot them with paintball ammunition. According to eyewitnesses, the demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at them and set mobile police stations on fire.
Already 150 dead, hundreds injured
During a visit by President Ebrahim Raisi to the university in Tehran, female students shouted at him to “go away”. This is shown in a video published on the “1500tasvir” Twitter account. In his address to students and professors at Alsahra University in Tehran, Raisi quoted a poem in which rioters are equated with flies.
Iranian human rights group Hengaw said demonstrations and strikes broke out in four cities after a call for mass demonstrations. In the Kurdish cities of Sakkes and Sanandaj, security forces shot at demonstrators and used tear gas.
Amini was arrested in Tehran on September 13 for allegedly violating the rules on wearing a headscarf. She died three days later. There is conflicting information about the circumstances of her death. According to state information, a coroner came to the conclusion that Amini had not died from being beaten in police custody, but as a result of a previous illness. Regime critics are convinced that security forces are responsible for their deaths.
The death of the young Kurd unleashed a nationwide wave of protests, which have long been directed against the country’s leadership and the restrictions on civil liberties in general. According to civil rights groups, the protests have killed more than 150 people, injured hundreds, and arrested thousands. The Iranian government blames its enemies – including the United States – for the protests. 20 security forces were killed.