(Paris) Iranian security forces injured several people when they opened fire on a demonstration sparked by the death of a young student shortly after his release, human rights groups said on Friday.
Protests erupted on Thursday evening in Abdanan, in the Kurdish-populated western province of Ilam, according to the Norway-based Hengaw group, the France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network and the 1500tasvir account which tracks the protests. .
People had taken to the streets to express their anger after the death in late May of 21-year-old Bamshad Soleimankhani, just days after his release from prison.
Hengaw showed people marching down the street as the sound of gunfire was audible as well as footage of protesters with injured torsos. It was not immediately possible to verify the authenticity of the images.
Hengaw said 25 people were injured in the crackdown on protesters who chanted anti-regime slogans.
Protests erupted in September in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested on the pretext of flouting Iranian dress rules for women. These protest movements, which had shaken the country’s clerical authorities, have eased somewhat in recent months but are still continuing sporadically.
For his part, 1500tasvir said his family noticed Soleimankhani had foam in his mouth after his release from prison and he was taken to hospital, where doctors recorded multiple fractures on his body and burns. of cigarettes he allegedly suffered in detention. He subsequently died.
This organization described him as sympathetic to the opposition movement, but it was not immediately clear when and why he was arrested.
While the protest movements are less intense than at the height of the movement at the end of last year, spontaneous street demonstrations are taking place in reaction to specific events.
In recent months, activists have noted several demonstrations across the country, particularly after the hanging of three men involved in protest movements. A total of seven people have been executed since the beginning of the movement.