Status: 10/27/2022 8:17 p.m
The protests continue – this time demonstrations are said to have taken place in the north-west of the country. There are reports of clashes and gunfire. In the meantime, the ambassadors in Germany and Iran have been asked to talk.
In north-western Iran, protesters have reportedly attempted to occupy government buildings. Videos on social media showed crowds believed to be from the Kurdish city of Mahabad. It is unclear whether the protesters also occupied the governor’s office, as claimed.
Shots were also reported in the city. Here, too, the circumstances are still unclear. The videos could not initially be verified.
Probably clashes with security forces
The state news agency IRNA said that the police had prevented the demonstrators from entering. She published several photos of chaotic street scenes with burnt-out shops. This information could not be independently verified.
The Oslo-based human rights organization Hengaw, which maintains contacts in the region, reported clashes with security forces in Mahabad in which at least one protester was said to have been killed.
UN representative sees complicity in Raisi
A UN envoy has blamed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for hundreds of protesters killed in the country. Raisi himself has “incited the security forces to commit violence against civilians on a number of occasions,” said Javaid Rehman, the UN special rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran. Among other things, his decree on compliance with the hijab law “gave the vice squad license to enforce it more vigorously.”
UN expert Rehman spoke of more than 250 people killed since the protests began – including at least 27 children. The number of unreported cases is high. The UN expert called on the international community to systematically investigate the cases in order to hold the perpetrators accountable. At the same time, he was convinced that the demonstrations would not be put down.
The Iranian authorities, brutal and repressive as they are, cannot stop the young people. You will not be able to stop this movement.
Ambassador asked for talks
After announcing a tougher action against Iran by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) there were also summonses for talks with the diplomats on site. It was first reported from Tehran that the German ambassador to Iran, Hans-Udo Muzel, had been summoned for talks. The Foreign Office confirmed this. Later it became known that the Iranian ambassador in Berlin was also asked to speak.
Baerbock had recently announced that he would tighten his course against Tehran because of the authorities’ crackdown on the protest movement there. In addition to the sanctions decided at EU level, additional national entry restrictions are to be imposed. The already limited economic contacts are to be further reduced, also with a view to the still existing business relationships of Iranian banks.
Iran accuses Germany of supporting the protests
Iran accuses Germany and Baerbock of supporting the system-critical protests in the country that have been going on for weeks. At the same time, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran also held European countries responsible for supporting terrorist acts in a mosque, as Irna reported. The Islamic State had previously claimed responsibility for the attack. According to state media, the terrorist attack in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz at least 13 people killed.
For more than 40 days Crowds of people take to the streets in Iran to protest against the government. The trigger was the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini. The vice squad arrested her for allegedly violating Islamic dress codes. The woman died in police custody on September 16. Thousands across the country are protesting against the government’s repressive course and the Islamic system of rule. More than ten thousand people have been arrested in connection with protests, according to human rights activists.