The Foreign Office in Berlin has summoned the Iranian ambassador. This was announced by a government spokesman. He emphasized that all options for a reaction would also be discussed quickly at the level of the European Union. The EU is considering new sanctions. The background is the disproportionate use of force against thousands of demonstrators in Iran, which has been going on for days. The government in Tehran dismissed the EU’s criticism as interfering in the country’s internal affairs and as “supporting rioters”.
The protests against the government, which have been going on for ten days, have been triggered by the death of the 22-year-old Kurd Mahsa Amini. She was arrested by the Morality Police in Tehran on September 13 for violating the strict Islamic dress code and allegedly not wearing her headscarf appropriately. She collapsed at the police station under mysterious circumstances and was pronounced dead at the hospital three days later.
Since then, thousands of people have taken to the streets in Iran. Their angry protests are now also directed against the Islamic system of rule, the systematic discrimination against women and the restriction of personal freedoms.
According to their own statements, the authorities in Iran have now arrested more than 1,200 people. The head of the Iranian judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Edschei, called for “decisive action without forbearance” against the demonstrators on Sunday. According to an unspecified statement by Iranian authorities, 41 people have been killed since the protests began. The NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), based in the Norwegian capital Oslo, speaks of at least 76 dead.
Massive police presence in numerous cities to prevent protests
Photos of alleged demonstrators were published in the city of Qom, holy to Shiites. The military urged residents to identify the “leaders of the riots” and report the names to authorities.
The Internet has been largely blocked in Iran for days. Social media apps like WhatsApp and Instagram are also blocked.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on the fringes of the UN General Assembly in New York last week that Germany would bring the Amini case before the United Nations Human Rights Council. If women are not safe, then no society in this world is safe, emphasized the Green politician. “That’s why the brutal attack on the courageous women in Iran is also an attack on humanity.”
se/djo (rtr, dpa, afp, ap)
