DUBAI (Reuters) – Protesters across Iran on Saturday defied a month-long crackdown, activists said, shouting in the streets and at universities at the country’s clergy leaders in a wave of anger over the death of Mahsa Amini.
The protests that have gripped Iran since Amini – a 22-year-old woman from the country’s Kurdish region – died on Sept.
While the protests did not appear close to bringing down the system, the demonstrations broadened into strikes that closed shops and businesses, touched the vital energy sector and inspired brazen acts of dissent against Iran’s religious regime.
A video posted by Norway-based organization Iran Human Rights reportedly shows protests in Mashhad, in the northeast, Iran’s second most populous city, with protesters chanting “Get out, clerics” and drivers honking their horns.
Videos published by the group showed a strike by shopkeepers in Saqez – Amiri’s northwestern hometown – and high school girls singing “Woman, Life, Freedom” in the streets of Sanandaj, capital of Kurdistan province.
Protests were also reported in Isfahan, central Iran, and in the south-east of the country.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the videos. Phone and internet services in Iran have been frequently disrupted over the past month, and the organization that oversees the internet, NetBlocks, reported “a new major outage” just before Saturday’s protests began.
Amiri died in custody after being detained by the morality police for violating strict religious rules that require women to dress modestly.
(Reporting from Dubai newsroom)
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