In the last ten days, protests against the government’s killing of Mahsa Amini have continued in over 90 cities and 30 provinces of Iran. The protests have reached the student bodies, with large crowds of students protesting in the courtyards of the country’s largest universities.
Despite the suppression of the protests and government-imposed Internet interruption that began last week, nationwide protests entered their tenth day on Monday, September 26.
Beginning in Iran’s Kurdistan region, protests have spread and been reported in several major cities, including Tehran, Karaj, Yazd, Saveh, Sardasht, Sanandaj, Mashhad, Tabriz, Kermanshah, and Babolsar.
In the last ten days, dozens of people have been killed, hundreds have been injured, and hundreds have been arrested in different cities. Videos circulating show severe policy brutality against protestors.
As of September 26, 76 people have been killed, according to Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) based in Norway. On Saturday night, Iranian state TV announced that 41 people had been killed during protests so far– a number including the casualties of government forces. Zamaneh is working to confirm these numbers.
Students in at least 24 universities have called for a general strike, stating that they will not be attending classes in any form. Last week, universities suspended in-person classes as a preventative measure to reduce the chance of large protests. Some professors at the Tehran University have declared their support for the students’ calls and have joined the strike.
In 18 other Iranian universities, students held demonstrations and gatherings with slogans against the compulsory hijab and dictatorship.
Attacks on universities continue, and dozens of students have been arrested so far. The student atmosphere is tense, with security forces and plain clothes officers keeping students under continuous surveillance.
The protests against the government’s murder of Mahsa started on Friday, September 16. Protests began to take shape just after the medical team at Tehran’s Kasra hospital pronounced Mahsa dead. This continued after Mahsa’s funeral in her hometown of Saqqez, where mourners organized a peaceful rally outside the city’s governor’s office. Security forces outside the office responded to protestors with tear gas and opened fire. Since then, protests have been widespread, taking place in nearly all of Iran’s 31 provinces.
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, died after falling into a coma following her detention by morality police enforcing hijab in Tehran. She was visiting the capital with her family from Saqqez.
The Tehran police claim Mahsa’s death was caused from a prior heart and brain condition that led to cardiac arrest and a stroke, however, in conversation with Zamaneh, Mahsa’s family confirmed that she was healthy and had no prior health conditions.
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