By Rafiq A. Tschannen on October 25, 2022 ( Leave a comment )

Protests in Iran: The Regime’s Trail of Blood

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Demonstration on October 1 in Tehran, map showing protests across Iran Foto: [M] DER SPIEGEL; Foto: S.Azad/SIPA/Action press

Protests in Iran The Regime’s Trail of Blood

For over a month, people in Iran have been protesting against the Islamist regime. Data shows how protests have sprung up around the country and where the government has unleashed the most brutality against the demonstrators.

By Alexander Epp, Klaas Neumann, Dawood Ohdah und Matthias Stahl

24.10.2022 spiegel.de

Since the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, Iran has been gripped by unrest. The 22-year-old woman died on September 16 after being taken into custody by the morality police for her allegedly “unislamic outfit.” Just a few weeks before, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had issued a new decree strengthening the country’s “hijab and chastity” law. Critics have accused the morality police of being responsible for her death, though the police have strenuously denied the charge.

Yet photos and videos have been shared on social media channels that appear to show Amini lying badly injured in a hospital bed shortly before her death.

An alleged image of Jina Mahsa Amini, shortly before her death; source: Twitter / RadioFarda

Since then, people have been protesting across the country against the oppression from the government, the hijab requirement and the entire system of rule. Iranian security forces have responded with brutality.

Number of protests

First week of protest
Immediately after Amini’s death, the first protests spring up in several districts of Tehran. The government begins drastically limiting access to the internet, making messaging services like Instagram and WhatsApp temporarily unreachable. The population’s anger soon spreads to other parts of the country, including Amini’s home province of Kurdistan. The protests grow violent, and the first deaths are recorded.

Protests in Tehran on September 22; Source: Reuters

Second week of protest
Pressure on the regime is growing. President Ebrahim Raisi demands that security personnel “deal decisively” with the protesters. According to the organization Iran Human Rights, regime loyalists shoot and kill six people in Rezvanshahr, in Gilan province. At the same time, according to media reports, counterprotests organized by the government are held in Tehran.

The video allegedly shows protesters in Rasht, the capital of Gilan province. It was published on September 29. Source: Twitter / @1500tasvir

Third week of protest
The brutality the government is deploying to crush the protests is on full display in Zahedan, located in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan. According to Amnesty International, security forces there killed at least 82 demonstrators and bystanders in front of a police station during a violent protest. The reason for the escalation was the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl by the police. Warning: The following video shows injured people.

Video footage appears to show security personnel shooting at people in Zahedan on September 30. Source: Reuters.

Fourth week of protest
Iran’s leadership begins reacting with increasing irascibility to growing criticism from abroad. In comments to European Union officials, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian defends the police response to the protests as being absolutely legitimate. According to human rights organizations, at least 150 have been killed by the regime’s brutal response since September 16. Oslo-based Iran Human Rights believes that at least 215 have been killed. The true number is likely far higher since many deaths are not recorded.

Hundreds of people protest on October 14 in Berlin against the Iranian regime. Source: Reuters.

Fifth week of protest
In Tehran, a fire at Evin Prison, where numerous political prisoners are held, kills four people, according to official sources. The cause of the fire remains unclear. Britain, meanwhile, has imposed sanctions on the morality police and on five leading politicians and security officials. The protests have now been going on for more than a month. Who are the victims?

Footage shows Evin Prison following the fire on October 15. Source: Reuters.

† September 18, 2022, Kurdistan

Fouad Ghadimi

† September 19, 2022, Kurdistan

Mohsen Mohammadi

† September 19, 2022, Kurdistan

Fereydoon Mahmoudi

† September 19, 2022, Kurdistan

Reza Lotfi

† September 19, 2022, Kurdistan

Fardin Bakhtiari

† September 20, 2022, West Azerbaijan

Zakaria Khial 16 years old

† September 20, 2022, Gilan

Farzin Lotfi 35 years old

† September 20, 2022, West Azerbaijan

Farjad Darvishi 23 years old

† September 20, 2022, West Azerbaijan

Zakaria Khayal 16 years old

† September 20, 2022, Kermanshah

Minoo Majidi

† September 20, 2022, Kermanshah

Reza Shahparnia 20 years old

† September 20, 2022, Tehran

Nika Shakarami 16 years old

Picture: Amnesty International

Nika Shakarami was missing for several days before her body suddenly appeared in Tehran. According to reporting by the BBC, Iranian officials coerced the 16-year-old’s family, under threat of violence, to falsely state that her death was the result of an accident.

Human rights organizations and activists are striving to document the victims of the protests – to put a face to their names. It is difficult to verify the information independently. IranWire, for example, a news site run by exiled journalists with good contacts in Iran, has collected the names of about 100 victims and verified the cause and date of death, as well as the age of many of them. The victims include:

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Number of protests

Tehran

† September 21, 2022, Gilan

Behnam Layeghpour 37 years old

† September 21, 2022, Gilan

Amir Nowruzi 16 years old

† September 21, 2022, Gilan

Yasin Jamalzadeh

† September 21, 2022, West Azerbaijan

Abdollah Mohammadpour 17 years old

† September 21, 2022, West Azerbaijan

Danesh Rahnama 25 years old

† September 21, 2022, West Azerbaijan

Sadreddin Litani 27 years old

† September 21, 2022, West Azerbaijan

Milan Haghighi

† September 21, 2022, West Azerbaijan

Amin M’arefat (Maaroufi) 16 years old

† September 21, 2022, West Azerbaijan

Matin Abdollahpour 16 years old

† September 21, 2022, Kermanshah

Saeed Mohammadi 21 years old

† September 21, 2022, Kermanshah

Amir Ali Fooladi 16 years old

† September 21, 2022, Alborz

Hadis Najafi 20 years old

Picture: ZUMA Wire / IMAGO

According to media reports, the 20-year-old Hadis Najafi was apparently shot to death by security officials during a demonstration in Karaj. Hadis was a popular TikTok user and published dance and music videos.

Number of protests

Tehran

† September 21, 2022, Ilam

Mohsen Ghaysari 32 years old

† September 21, 2022, Mazandaran

Ghazaleh Chalavi 32 years old

† September 21, 2022, Mazandaran

Hannaneh Kia 23 years old

† September 21, 2022, Mazandaran

Mehdi (Mohammad) Fallah

† September 21, 2022, Mazandaran

Erfan Rezaei 21 years old

† September 21, 2022, Mazandaran

Mohammad Hassan Torkaman

† September 21, 2022, Mazandaran

Milad Zare

† September 21, 2022, Razavi Khorasan

Ali Mozaffari

† September 21, 2022, Kermanshah

Iman Mohammadi

† September 21, 2022, Alborz

Mohammad Reza Eskandari 25 years old

† September 21, 2022, Zanjan

Mehdi Mousavi 16 years old

Picture: Amnesty International

According to media reports, Mehdi Mousavi was killed by security forces during protests in Zanjan. The reports indicate that they fired live rounds at Mousavi before then beating him with batons. He later succumbed to his injuries, the reports say.

Number of protests

Tehran

† September 21, 2022, West Azerbaijan

Amin Marefat 16 years old

† September 21, 2022, Tehran

Mohammad Reza Sarvari 14 years old

† September 22, 2022, Qazvin

Javad Heydari

† September 22, 2022, Gilan

Maziar Soleimanian

† September 22, 2022, Gilan

Sasan Ghorbani 32 years old

† September 22, 2022, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad

Pedram Azarnoush 16 years old

† September 22, 2022, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad

Mehrdad Behnam-Asl

† September 22, 2022, Isfahan

Mahsa Mogouei 18 years old

† September 22, 2022, Tehran

Setareh Tajik 17 years old

† September 23, 2022, Alborz

Parsa Rezadoust 17 years old

† September 23, 2022, Alborz

Sarina Esmailzadeh 16 years old

Picture: Amnesty International

Reports indicate that the 16-year-old Sarina Esmailzadeh was also killed by regime loyalists during protests in Karaj. They apparently pummeled the girl’s head with batons before then harassing and intimidating her family to silence them.

Number of protests

Tehran

† September 24, 2022, Tehran

Mohammad Hossein Sarvari-Rad

† September 24, 2022, Gilan

Morteza Nowroozi

† September 24, 2022, Semnan

Mehdi Asgari 25 years old

† September 24, 2022, Mazandaran

Hossein Ali Kia

† September 25, 2022, Tehran

Siavash Mahmoudi 16 years old

† September 28, 2022, Tehran

Amir Mehdi Farrokhipour 17 years old