POLICY

More than 260 arrested during protests on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death

The Iranian authorities explained that the arrests are based on breaches of public security regulations, incitement to protest marches and possession of weapons.

  • 20/09/2023 • 02:08

Iranian authorities reported this Sunday the arrest of more than 260 people, carried out on Saturday, on the first anniversary of the death of the young Kurdish-Iranian Mahsa Amini while she was under police arrest for not complying with dress codes, and that sparked a wave of protests in the country.

 

The authorities explained that the arrests correspond to a period of 24 hours and that they are based on breaches of public security regulations, incitement to protests and possession of weapons, according to the Iranian newspaper Shargh.

 

On Saturday, several cities in the Kurdish-majority northern region of Iran supported the general strike called by Kurdish political parties and organizations to protest Amini's death.

 

The security forces carried out a significant deployment with helicopters and armored vehicles, according to the civil organization Hengaw, which reports more than a dozen identified detainees, including several female activists.

 

In parallel, a member of the Revolutionary Guard, Ibrahim Molanpur, died in the city of Sardasht on Friday, and the official Iranian news agency, IRNA, reported on Saturday the death of a member of the pro-government Basij militia, in the province of Fars, in the south of the country, according to the Europa Press agency.

 

On Saturday, Iranian security agents detained protesters who intended to carry out a series of sabotage and attacks during demonstrations commemorating Amini.

 

"Iran's security forces captured several terrorists who had plotted to shoot people at an illegal demonstration in Saqqez (Amini's birthplace), a city in the western province of Kurdistan," local news agency Tasnim reported.

 

According to authorities, Amini, a 22-year-old girl, was taken to a police center for an explanatory talk regarding the dress code, where she suffered cardiac arrest while in custody and, although she was immediately taken to a hospital, she died. after three days.

 

His death gave rise to an unprecedented protest movement in recent years in Iran that resulted, according to the non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights, in more than 550 deaths due to the repression of protesters.

 

Iranian authorities believe that the riots were orchestrated from abroad and accused Western countries of supporting the protesters, who spread "subversive and anti-Iranian" messages in the media and called for the overthrow of the Iranian government.