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Berlin: Thousands marched in Berlin on Saturday to show support for Iranian protesters, sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody despite a deadly state crackdown The riots are in their sixth week.
The protests have posed one of the most daring challenges to Iran’s civilian leadership since the 1979 revolution, even if they didn’t seem close to overthrowing a government that deployed its powerful security apparatus to quell the unrest.
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died in the custody of the ethics police after being detained for “improperly dressed”.
Protests erupted at a funeral in the Kurdish town of Saqez on September 17 and then spread to Iran. Rights groups say more than 200 people have been killed in the crackdown.
Women played a prominent role, waving and burning the veil. The deaths of several teenage girls reportedly killed during the protests have sparked more outrage.
In Berlin, where police estimated 80,000 people marched, protesters waved Iranian flags and carried banners reading “Women, Life, Freedom.”
Organisers said Iranians traveled from the US, Canada and across the European Union.
“From Zahedan to Tehran, I sacrificed my life for Iran,” human rights activist Fariba Baruch said after speaking at the Berlin rally, referring to Iran swept by the protests City.
The crowd responded with “death of Khamenei,” referring to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Anti-government activists said the Berlin march was the largest ever by Iranians abroad against the regime in Tehran.
“I feel good because we are here (saying) ‘we are with you, with all the Iranian people’. I am the voice of Mahsa Amini,” said one protester who identified himself as Maru.
Videos posted on social media, which Reuters could not independently verify, showed protests in Iran continuing in several cities including Tehran, northeastern Mashhad, northwestern Mahabad and universities across the country.
A video shows protesters setting fires on the streets of Tehran’s Lalehzar district. Another photo showed Mashhad’s car honking as demonstrators chanted “death to the dictator”.
Khamenei warned that no one would dare think they could eradicate the Islamic Republic, accusing its opponents of fomenting unrest. State television reported the deaths of at least 26 members of the security forces.
Some of the deadliest riots have occurred in areas populated by ethnic minorities who have long been disaffected by the state.
These include the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan and its capital, Zahedan.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Saturday accused a leading Sunni cleric of inciting against the Islamic Republic and warned that after he identified officials, including Khamenei, responsible for dozens of people killed in Zahedan last month This could cost him dearly.
At least 66 people were killed in a crackdown by security forces following Friday prayers in Zahedan on September 30, Amnesty International said.
Morawi Abdulhamid, Zahedan’s main Sunni cleric, said in a sermon on Friday that officials including head of state Khamenei’s response to the Sept. 30 killing was “before God. Responsible”.
He described the killing as a massacre, saying bullets hit the head and chest.
A brief statement from Sepah News, the official news site of the Revolutionary Guard, said: “Mr. Abdul Hamid, encouraging and inciting youth against the Islamic Republic of Iran may cost you dearly! This is the final warning!”
State media said “unidentified armed men” opened fire on police stations during the Sept. 30 violence, prompting security forces to fire back.
The Revolutionary Guards said five members of its forces and volunteer Basij militiamen were killed during the violence on 30 September.
Authorities blamed the Baloch militant group. Neither the group nor any other faction has claimed a role.
Protests have been fueled by allegations that a local teenage girl was raped by a police officer.
Officials said the case is under investigation.
After protests erupted again in Zahedan on Friday, Majid Mir Ahmadi, the deputy interior minister in charge of security, said the situation had returned to calm, the official news agency IRNA reported.
He said 150 “thugs attacked public property and even Sunni shops.”
Rights groups say the government has long discriminated against minorities, including the Kurds.
The state denies the discrimination allegations.
In Iran’s Kurdish region on Saturday, videos posted online showed shopkeepers going on strike in several cities in the northwestern Kurdish region, including Sanandaj, Sagz and Bukan.
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