According to the organization Iran Human Rights Watch, more than 90 people have been killed in the demonstrations following the death of the young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in Iran. The Oslo-based human rights organization said on Sunday that at least 92 people were killed in Iran in the two weeks after Amini's death as security forces cracked down on demonstrators.
"The international community has a duty to solve this crime and prevent further crimes being committed by the Islamic Republic," said IHR Chairman Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam. Amnesty International reported on Friday that Iranian authorities have deliberately used deadly force to quell the ongoing protests. They "mobilized their well-honed machinery of repression to ruthlessly suppress nationwide protests."
The protests in Iran were triggered by Amini's death. The 22-year-old Kurd was arrested by the moral police in Tehran on September 13, apparently because she was not wearing the Islamic headscarf in accordance with the rules. After her arrest, Amini collapsed under mysterious circumstances at the police station and was pronounced dead at the hospital three days later. IHR also commented on Friday's violent clashes in Sahedan, the capital of southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province. At least 41 people were killed.
The security forces had "bloodyly suppressed" the protests there, IHR said. These were sparked by reports that a police chief in the port city of Chabahar raped a 15-year-old girl who belongs to the Sunni minority living in the province. Sistan-Balutschestan on the border with Pakistan is one of the poorest regions in Iran. It is home to the Baloch minority, most of whom adhere to the Sunni sect of Islam, while Iran is Shiite-dominated.
IHR chief Amiry-Moghaddam said the deaths of the protesters, particularly those in Sahedan, was a "crime against humanity". The Iranian state media described the protests in Sahedan as a "terrorist incident". Five members of the Revolutionary Guard, the armed ideological wing of the leadership in Tehran, were killed.
