Tens of thousands of people marched in Berlin yesterday in a show of support for protesters in Iran where unrest ignited by Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody entered a sixth week despite a deadly state crackdown.
The protests have posed one of the boldest challenges to Iran’s clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution, even if they do not appear close to toppling a government that has deployed its powerful security apparatus to quell the unrest.
Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, died in the custody of morality police after being detained for “improper attire”. Protests erupted at her funeral on September 17 in the Kurdish town of Saqez before spreading across Iran. Rights groups say more than 200 people have been killed in the crackdown.
Women have played a prominent part, waving and burning veils. The deaths of several teenage girls reportedly killed during protests have fuelled more anger.
In Berlin, police estimated 80,000 people joined the march, with protesters waving Iranian flags and holding banners saying “Woman, Life, Freedom”. Organisers said Iranians had travelled from the US, Canada and all over the European Union.
“From Zahedan to Tehran, I sacrifice my life for Iran,” human rights activist Fariba Balouch said after giving a speech at the Berlin gathering, referring to Iranian cities swept up in the protests. The crowd responded with “Death to Khamenei”, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Anti-government activists said the Berlin march was the largest ever demonstration against the Islamic Republic by Iranians abroad.
Videos posted on social media showed protests continuing in Iran at several cities including Tehran, northeastern Mashhad, northwestern Mahabad, Dezful in the southwest and a number of universities across the country.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards yesterday accused a leading cleric of agitating against the Islamic Republic and warned it may cost him dearly after he held officials including Khamenei responsible for dozens killed in Zahedan last month.
Amnesty International has said security forces killed at least 66 people in a crackdown after Friday prayers in Zahedan, on September 30.
Molavi Abdolhamid, Zahedan’s leading cleric, said during his Friday sermon that officials including Khamenei were “responsible before God” for the September 30 killings. He described the killing as a massacre, saying bullets had been fired at heads and chests.
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