People participate in a protest against Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi outside of the UN on September 21, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by STEPHANIE KEITH / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Thousands have been protesting across Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini earlier this month, after she died in custody following her arrest on September 13 in Tehran for “unsuitable attire” by the morality police who enforce the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
Iran Human Rights (IHR), a monitoring group based in Oslo, Norway, said Monday at least 76 protesters have been killed by security forces so far.
According to IHR, in many cases, handing over the bodies of the victims to their families was made contingent on agreeing to secret burials.
Iran Wire said Tueday at least 2,000 protesters have been arrested in Tehran alone over the past ten days, Iranian media reported.
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, said on Tuesday that authorities in Iran must fully respect the rights of protesters calling for justice for Mahsa Amini, the young woman who died in custody after being arrested for allegedly violating strict dress codes.
The UN chief said he was becoming "increasingly concerned" about reports of the death toll rising, "including women and children."
Giorgia Meloni, who is set to become Italy’s first female prime minister, hailed on Wednesday “the heroic uprising of Iranian women” following the death of the young woman in police custody.
The leader of the German Greens, a junior partner in the coalition government, said Wednesday that the EU must widen sanctions against Iran following protests over a young woman’s death, according to a Sputnik report.
Omid Nouripour, who is of Iranian descent, told German magazine Spiegel that his predecessor and the current foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, was negotiating sanctions with EU members “so that they hit the regime directly,” the Russia based news agency said.
“The EU must widen its sanctions against Iran.
“For example, those responsible for the crackdown on protests should be targeted individually and regardless of their rank,” Nouripour, a member of the federal parliament, said.