CNN
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Iranian People are staging demonstrations throughout america this weekend in solidarity with ongoing protests in Iran over the dying of a 22-year-old lady who collapsed whereas in custody of morality police.
“Be part of us in solidarity and be the voice of the Iranian people who find themselves getting brutally suppressed for combating for primary human rights whereas their entry to web is minimize off,” read a flyer for an event on Saturday in Boston. Comparable occasions are being held in California, Rhode Island and Florida, amongst different states.
Protests erupted within the Islamic Republic earlier this week, following the dying of Mahsa Amini final Friday. Days earlier than her dying, she was arrested by morality police in Tehran and brought to a “re-education” middle to obtain steerage on her apparel. Iran’s morality police is a devoted unit imposing strict gown codes for girls, comparable to sporting the obligatory headband.
Whereas in custody, Amini fell right into a coma and died shortly thereafter. Police have known as Amini’s dying an “unfortunate incident” and denied she was bodily harmed in custody, semiofficial information company Fars Information mentioned on Monday. Iranian officers have mentioned Amini died after struggling a “coronary heart assault” following her arrest, however her household say she didn’t have a preexisting coronary heart situation.
Protesters, demanding justice and accountability for Amini’s dying, have since taken to the streets of Tehran and past. Movies present crowds cheering as girls minimize their hair and burn their headscarves in defiance of legal guidelines requiring girls to cowl their heads whereas in public. Chants vary from “Ladies, life, freedom” to “Loss of life to the dictator,” a reference to Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The federal government has tried to curb dissent with power and an internet blackout. Dozens of protesters have reportedly been killed in ensuing clashes with safety forces.
CNN can’t independently confirm the dying toll – a exact determine is not possible for anybody outdoors the Iranian authorities to substantiate – and totally different estimates have been given by opposition teams, worldwide rights organizations and native journalists.
Amnesty Worldwide mentioned Friday at least 30 people, together with 4 kids, had died; in accordance with state media the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, 35 individuals have died.
In help of the protests, Iranian People are internet hosting rallies, vigils and different occasions. Many are calling for an finish to the police crackdown, in addition to larger human rights for Iranian girls, together with an finish to obligatory gown codes.
Earlier this week, protests had been held on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, in addition to College of California, Berkeley, amongst different areas. Demonstrations will proceed by the weekend, together with San Francisco, the place supporters will try and form a human chain throughout the Golden Gate Bridge Sunday.
Majid Sadeghpour, an Iranian American who lives in Virginia, is among the organizers of a Saturday rally in Washington. The protests, Sadeghpour instructed CNN, symbolize solidarity with these in Iran who’re “able to overthrow this regime regardless of the price.”
“Folks of Iran are within the means of one other revolution,” Sadeghpour mentioned. “The regime has been declining for years and now’s actually falling. We name on the worldwide neighborhood to sever ties with this regime and as a substitute help the Iranian individuals and their organized resistance.”
Sepideh Sanie, a protest organizer in Chicago, mentioned she felt compelled to amplify Iranian voices, particularly for the reason that web blackout has prevented so many from being heard.
“As individuals not residing beneath the oppression of the Islamic Regime, we’re obligated to talk up and be the voice of our individuals,” Sanie mentioned. “The federal government has been proscribing entry to the web and social media platforms to silence the voice of Iranians, and that’s the place we, these with freedom and entry to totally different platforms, are available.”
Solidarity occasions are additionally going down in different international locations, together with Turkey, Lebanon, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain and Germany.
