04 October 2022 :
Iran Protests: Death Toll Rises to 133 / 40+ Killed in Zahedan’s “Bloody Friday”
Nationwide protests sparked by the police murder of Mahsa Amini continue despite the bloody crackdown and internet shutdown. Security forces in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchistan province gunned down protesters, killing more than 40 people on September 30.
Iran Human Rights condemns the killing of protesters in the strongest possible terms, particularly the killings in Zahedan, which it considers to amount to crimes against humanity. IHRNGO Director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “The killing of protesters in Iran, especially in Zahedan, amounts to crimes against humanity. The international community has a duty to investigate this crime and prevent further crimes from being committed by the Islamic Republic.”
On September 30, people gathered after Friday prayer in Zahedan to protest against the rape of a Baluch 15-year-old girl by Chabahar’s police chief which was bloodily suppressed by security forces. The Baluch Activists Campaign has published the names of 41 people killed that day.
Iran Human Rights has confirmed 92 other people who have so far been killed by the Islamic Republic authorities across Iran, bringing the total to 133 people. At the time of writing, official sources who quoted the Sistan Baluchistan governor, have only confirmed 19 deaths and 20 injuries in Zahedan.
State-affiliated websites have also published the forced confessions of a Zahedan detainee which appears to have been obtained under duress. The forced confessions of other protesters have also been aired in recent days.
Internet access has also either been severely disrupted or completely cut over the last ten days. Instagram, WhatsApp, Signal, Viber, Skype, LinkedIn, Google Play, App Store, four online games and many other foreign platforms are all down and their websites have been filtered.
Mahsa Amini was a 22-year-old girl from Saqqez (Kurdistan) who had travelled to Tehran with her family to visit relatives in Tehran when she was arrested by Guidance Patrol officers on September 14. Shortly after, she fainted at the Vozara police station and went into a coma. According to witness testimonies, Mahsa was beaten by the arresting officers in the police van and later at the police station. She was officially declared to have died at Kasra Hospital on September 16.
https://iranhr.net/en/articles/5506/
