Crumbling Democratic Show In Iran As Journalists Attacked In Anti Regime Protests
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Roshan Amiri
- . September 27, 2022
- . Update: September 29, 2022 3:41 am
The death toll is rising in Iran as people and even media professionals are losing their lives protesting or condemning the death of the young girl Mahsa Amini. United Nations is openly condemning Iran’s inaction and callousness to control the human rights mayhem that the county is facing.
As authorities continue to clamp down the protests and controlling access to the internet, anti-regime protests are rocking the whole country over moral policing and subsequent death in custody.
Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in Geneva that the office was “very concerned by the continued violent response by security forces”. She urged the authorities to restore internet access and release those who had been detained.
Live ammunition is being used on protestors, and this might have been one reason for the death of some 76 people. Officials said on Monday they had arrested more than 1,200 people.
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Ms Shamdasani said there was no reason for security forces to use live ammunition to disperse protesters. “We are extremely concerned by comments by some leaders vilifying protesters and by the apparent unnecessary and disproportionate use of force against protesters. Firearms must never be used simply to disperse an assembly,” she said.
Tehran crowds shouted “death to the dictator”, calling for the end of the more than three-decade rule of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 83.
Video footage shot from several floors above street level, purportedly in the north-western city of Tabriz, showed people protesting to the sound of tear gas canisters being fired by security forces. The footage was published by the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights.
Situation remains bleak as Iran is now looking at arresting protestors and journalists as well where Iranian riot police and security forces continue to clash with activists at all levels. UN has shown deep concern over this callousness as well.
