New protests erupt in Iranian universities after the death of a student
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Alaina
- . November 7, 2022
- . Update: November 11, 2022 1:00 am
New protests erupted on Sunday in various universities in the Islamic Republic of Iran, especially in the Kurdish north-west, despite a fierce crackdown.
The Hengaw rights group in Norway said that Iranian security forces opened fire on Sunday at a protest in Marivan, a town in Marivan County in Kurdistan Province, which injured 35 people.
The latest protest was sparked by the death of a Kurdish student from Marivan, identified as Nasrin Ghadri. The Hengaw said that the student died on Saturday after being beaten over the head by the Iranian police.
According to the rights group, the student was buried at dawn without a funeral ceremony at the insistence of the Iranian authorities. Reportedly, people marched through the streets after the death of the student.
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The Kurdish-populated region has been the main point of protest since the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody in mid-September.
On September 13, she was arrested for breaching strict dress rules for women. The Iranian morality police took her to the detention centre to teach her lessons about hijab. Various Iranian human rights activists said that the morality police hit Amini’s head with a baton at the detention centre. They said that the Iranian authorities arrested Amini for allegedly wearing a loose hijab. On September 16, the doctor pronounced Amini dead. Subsequently, huge protests erupted in various cities in the Islamic Republic. The protests have evolved into the biggest challenge for the leadership since the 1979 revolution. Universities have also emerged as major protest centres in the country.
The protests spread across social classes, universities, factories, the streets and schools. Women, students, men, and workers also participated in the protests.
Iran Human Rights, an organisation in Norway, warned that “dozens” of arrested Iranian protesters had been charged with purported crimes, for which they could also be sentenced to death.
