Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has once again made it clear that the political leadership will under no circumstances react to requests from demonstrators who are critical of the government. The fall of Mahsa Amini made everyone “sad,” but “no one will allow the chaos to endanger people’s safety,” Raisi said in an address to the people. He spoke of a “conspiracy” against his country and defended the police and special units, which have repeatedly used extreme severity and violence against protesters for the past two weeks. According to official figures, 41 people were killed. The NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), based in the Norwegian capital Oslo, speaks of at least 76 people killed.
Iranians also demonstrated against the regime in the capital, Tehran, on Wednesday
The mullah state is faced with a wave of protests over the death of the 22-year-old that is very rare in Iran in this form. In return, countless people were arrested. On Wednesday, 59-year-old Faeseh Hashemi – a well-known women’s rights activist – was arrested in Tehran, according to the Tasnim news agency. She tried to motivate women to take part in the protests. This is currently classified as a criminal offense in Iran. Hashemi is the daughter of former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 and was influential at the time.
According to Raisi, coroners will present a report on Amini in the next few days. The Kurdish woman was arrested by the Morality Police in Tehran on September 13 because she is said to have worn her headscarf in violation of the strict Islamic dress code. She collapsed at the police station and was pronounced dead at the hospital three days later.
Parents complain and push for detailed information
The young woman’s parents have now filed a lawsuit against the “authors of the arrest” and against “the police officers who spoke to her after her arrival at the vice squad”. Prosecutors and the examining magistrate were asked to examine in detail what had happened, the couple’s lawyer said.
That Foreign Office in Berlin tightened its travel advice in view of the situation in Iran. “Police and security forces are increasingly violent against demonstrators, there are dead and injured,” it said. Arbitrary arrests also occur in the vicinity of demonstrations, including uninvolved foreign nationals. Travel to Iran is strongly discouraged.
There are also repeated rallies abroad because of the death of the young Kurd – here on Wednesday in Berlin
Leading politicians of the FDP and the Greens called for personal sanctions against representatives of the leadership in Tehran. “Words alone are no longer enough for us, we want to see action,” said FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai at a rally in Berlin. The co-chair of the Greens, Omid Nouripour, who, like Djir-Sarai, has Iranian roots, made a similar statement. It is unbelievable that people responsible for the oppression of women in Iran could send their children to elite universities or to go shopping.
This Thursday, the Bundestag will deal with the situation in Iran in a current hour. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wants to give a speech on the protests.
se/mak (rtr, afp, dpa)
