In Iran, the climate is not calming down. Iranian security forces opened fire on Wednesday (October 26th) on protesters gathered in Sagez, hometown of Mahsa Amini located in the province of Kurdistan, according to an NGO. Thousands of people attended a tribute ceremony there at the end of the traditional 40-day mourning.
“Security forces fired tear gas and opened fire at people in Zindan Square in Saghez”announced on Twitter Hengaw, a group of defense of the rights of the Kurds of Iran, based in Norway.
Security forces have shot tear gas and opened fire on people in Zindan square (Baneh), Saqqez city.
Wednesday, October 26, 2022#MahsaAmini#ZhinaAmini#Kurdistan
—Hengaw Organization for Human Rights (@Hengaw_English) October 26, 2022
Defying a reinforced security device, a crowd of men and women gathered on Wednesday morning around the tomb of the young woman in the Aichi cemetery of Saghez (western Iran), according to videos broadcast on the networks social. Later in the day, theInternet access has been blocked for “security reasons”reports the Isna news agency.
The 22-year-old Iranian Kurd died on September 16, three days after she was arrested in Tehran, where she was visiting with her younger brother, by morality police who accused her of breaking the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. , imposing in particular the wearing of the veil for women.
Wednesday, the 40th day following the death of Mahsa Amini, marked the end of the traditional mourning period in Iran. As of Tuesday evening, the authorities reinforced their system in Saghez, deploying forces in a central square. Access to the city would also have been blocked. According to human rights activists, the security forces had warned the parents of the young woman against organizing a tribute ceremony at her grave, going so far as to threaten “the life of their son”.
Despite this, the faithful began to reach the cemetery early Wednesday, where around 2,000 people gathered, according to the Iranian agency Fars. But images posted online by activists and human rights defenders showed huge crowds, in cars and on motorbikes, walking through fields and along roads, or even crossing a river.