THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS
UPDATE: 11:00 PM CEST
Protests Across Kurdistan, Tehran and Karaj Following the Murder of Mahsa Imani
Today, September 18, the cities of Tehran, Saqqez, Sanandaj, Mahabad, and Karaj witnessed protests and clashes between enraged youth and security forces.
The people in Saqqez clashed with the riot police.
The youth in Sanandaj resisted the security forces’ attempt to disperse them. They tore down posters of state officials and threw stones at the riot police.
People in Sanandaj chanted: “Death to Khamenei!”
People in Sanandaj call: “Death to the dictator!”
Footage shows the youth torching a police motorcycle in Sanandaj.
Footage from Sanandaj shows riot police assaulting the people and opening direct fire.
The youth in Karaj poured onto the streets and invited others to join the protest by chanting “Don’t fear, don’t fear, we’re all together on this!”
In Tehran, students rallied and marched by chanting slogans against the ruling establishment and condemning the murder of an innocent girl who was beaten to death over a simple headscarf.
UPDATE: 10:00 PM CEST
State Media Admit to Officials’ Lies About Mahsa’s Murder
Wary of nationwide and international outrage, the Iranian regime’s interior minister tried to deflect blame and dodge the responsibility of the brutal suppressive apparatus under his watch. Some news outlets aired highly edited footage to show that Mahsa Amini was not beaten but rather suffered a stroke out of the blue.
Responding to state media about the regime’s rush to bury Mehsa Amini’s body while the forensic report was not completed, Ahmad Vahidi claimed everything has been done according to the standard procedure.
Vahidi also said: “No beatings were reported to us by surveillance agencies. Basically, they (morality police) don’t have the means to beat people. They don’t have a baton or any other tool. There are a number of ladies who do this job because there are a number of female official personnel who take care of these matters.”
Trashing the Iranian regime’s claims that Mahsa was suffering from chronic heart problems, her father told state media: “Mahsa had no illness, and those who say she had epilepsy or underlying medical conditions are lying. During these 22 years, she may have only gone to the clinic for a simple cold.”
Questioning the manipulated CCTV footage that the regime has published everywhere to claim Mahsa was not beaten, some outlets, e.g. the state-run newspaper Arman wrote on September 18: “People are asking why the images of the police force were not broadcasted completely and what was the reason for the subsequent interruptions of the footage? What happened to Mahsa during the time when it was daylight until it got dark?”
UPDATE: 9:00 AM CEST
Iran: Saqqez Residents’ Protest Gathering at Mahsa Amini’s Funeral
Following the tragic murder of Mahsa Amini by the repressive Ershad Patrol (Morality Police), and Tehran residents’ protest against this crime, the repressive forces had planned to bury Mahsa in her hometown, Saqqez, at night in order to prevent large crowds from attending her funeral. However, her family resisted and forced them to postpone it to early this morning.
From the early hours of this morning, September 17, MOIS and SSP (State Security Force) agents blocked the entrances of Saqqez to prevent people from participating in the funeral ceremony. However, thousands of Saqqez residents gathered at the main cemetery and protested the murder of Mahsa Amini. They chanted, “Death to the dictator”, “Shame on our Ali Khamenei”, “Death to Khamenei”, “Regime of execution! Stop your crimes.”
Mahsa Amini Is the Latest Victim of the Misogynist Mullahs’ Regime in Iran
Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old woman from the city of Saqqez in Kurdistan Province, western Iran, who traveled to Tehran with her family, was arrested on Tuesday, September 13, at the entry of Haqqani Highway by the regime’s so-called “Guidance Patrol” and transferred to the “Moral Security” agency.
Protesting her arrest, Amini was severely beaten by the security forces in a van and was taken to the capital’s Kasra Hospital due to the severity of her injuries. After initial examinations, doctors declared that Amini had suffered a stroke and was brain dead at the same time. Reports indicate that her death was due to a fracture on her skull due to heavy blows to her head. Images of her in the hospital also show bleeding from her right ear.
Iran Regime’s Growing Evil
Two important human rights issues have happened this week in Iran. One of them was the Iranian regime’s decision to construct walls around the Khavaran mass graves of the victims of the 1988 Massacre. On September 13, Amnesty International stated that the regime, in favor of hiding its crimes and human rights violations, is “concealing the mass graves of the victims of the 1988 ‘prison massacre’.”
Amnesty requested for country members of the UN to force the regime to stop hiding the mass graves of the victims of the massacre from the public.
Prisoner at Risk of Torture and Ill-treatment at Agahi Detention Center
Farhad Ghahremani who has been arrested for demanding a halt to executions in Iran was taken to the Investigation Unit of Iran’s police (Agahi) where he remains at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
Iranian security forces have arrested Farhad Ghahremani, a 22-year-old man who was attending a protest rally against the death penalty before the Parliament on September 11.
Farhad Gharamhani was charged with “assembly and collusion through the leadership of gatherings” and was interrogated in Ward 209 of Evin Prison, which is controlled by MOIS.
Also, read Iran News in Brief – September 17, 2022