TEHRAN/NEW YORK (dpa-AFX) – Human rights activists estimate that at least 445 demonstrators have been killed in the mass protests in Iran so far. The US-based organization Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on Friday that 63 children were among the dead. More than 18,000 people were also arrested. The protests have covered more than 150 cities in the country since they began in mid-September. The organization also recorded the deaths of 57 security guards.
The trigger for the rebellion against the political leadership in Iran was the death of the 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini. The moral police had arrested her because she allegedly did not comply with the mandatory rules for wearing a headscarf. The woman died in police custody on September 16. Since her death, tens of thousands have been demonstrating across the country against the government’s repressive course and the Islamic system of rule./arb/DP/mis