At least 50 people have been killed in Iran since demonstrations began to protest the death of a woman in the custody of vice police, according to a bilan of the NGO Iran Human Rights, press release Friday, September 23. Thursday, the organization, based in Oslo, had already mentioned a balance sheet of at least 31 dead, while the Iranian authorities acknowledged the death of 17 people – while denying any involvement of the security forces.
The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini has drawn strong condemnation around the world as international NGOs have denounced a crackdown ” brutal “ demonstrations and that the Iranian president has promised an investigation.
The young woman, originally from Kurdistan, was arrested on September 13 in Tehran for “wearing inappropriate clothing” by the vice police, a unit responsible for enforcing the strict dress code in the Islamic Republic of Iran, where women must cover their hair and are not allowed to wear short coats above the knee, trousers tight or ripped jeans. She died on September 16 in hospital. Activists said she was fatally shot in the head, but Iranian officials denied this and announced an investigation.
The demonstrations started immediately after the announcement of his death. Since then, they have taken place in fifteen cities, as far as Qom, south-west of Tehran, birthplace of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.