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Anti-government protests in southern Iran

December 24, 2022 at 9:22 am

A view of Iranian newspapers with headlines of the death of 22 years old Mahsa Amini who died after being arrested by morality police allegedly not complying with strict dress code in Tehran, Iran. [Fatemeh Bahrami – Anadolu Agency]

Anti-government demonstrations took place after Friday prayers in the Sistan and Baluchestan province, southeast of the country.

Scenes posted on social media showed a demonstration starting from the Makki Mosque after Friday prayers in the city of Zahedan, the capital of the province, and turned into a mass march, during which the demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans.

The demonstrators raised pictures of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, who died at the hands of the morality police during her arrest last September, along with pictures of two people who were executed by the authorities in connection with the protests in the country.

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The demonstrators also called on the authorities to overturn the decision to execute a citizen named Shoaib Rigi, for his participation in the demonstrations.

Similar demonstrations also took place in the cities of Rask, Galikash, and Golestan in Sistan-Baluchestan.

Since last 16 September, protests have continued across Iran following the death of Amini, 22, 3 days after she was arrested by the “morality police” tasked with monitoring adherence to the women’s dress code.

The incident sparked widespread public anger in the political and media circles in Iran, amid conflicting accounts of the cause of Amini’s death.

Iran carried out two executions during nationwide protests, which were widely condemned by the international community and human rights experts.

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