Violent clashes erupted between students and security forces at a major university in Tehran, more than two weeks after protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini began, state media and NGOs reported Monday (October 3rd).
The death of this 22-year-old Iranian Kurd on September 16, three days after her arrest for violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code, which notably requires women to wear the veil, also gave rise to rallies in solidarity with women. Iranians in many cities around the world, especially in Paris again on Sunday.
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The protest movement in Iran, the largest since 2019 sparked by rising fuel prices, has entered its third week and the crackdown has intensified.
Violent incidents occurred overnight from Sunday to Monday at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, Iran's most prestigious, where riot police fired steel balls and tear gas at protesting students , according to the Iranian news agency Mehr.
"
Woman, life, freedom
", "
students prefer death to humiliation
", they chanted according to Mehr, adding that the Iranian Minister of Science then came to the university to talk to the students in order to calm the situation .
Incidents also occurred at the University of Isfahan (center).
"Conspiring" against Iran
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Monday accused the United States and Israel and their "agents" of fomenting the protests, in his first reaction since the start of the movement.
The Iranian president, the ultraconservative Ebrahim Raisi, also accused Sunday the "
enemies
" of Iran of "
conspiring
" against his country.
Iran's Intelligence Ministry said on Friday that nine foreign nationals -- including from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland -- had been arrested in connection with the protests.
A 30-year-old Italian globetrotter, Alessi Piperno, claimed to be detained in Iran and called for help, according to statements from her parents published in the Italian press on Monday.
Read alsoDeath of Mahsa Amini: it is "all of Iran which is now demonstrating"
For German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, it is “
difficult to bear what is happening at #Sharif University in #Iran
”, she tweeted: “
The courage of the Iranians is incredible.
And the brutal force of the regime is an expression of pure and simple fear of the power of Education and freedom
”.
For its part, the NGO Iran Human Rights, based in Oslo, published two videos, one apparently showing Iranian police on motorcycles chasing students running in an underground car park, and the other, police on motorcycles taking away people whose heads are covered with black cloth bags.
In other footage posted online, which AFP could not independently verify, gunfire and screams can be heard as large numbers of people run down a street at night.
In a video shot according to the IHR in a Tehran metro station, a crowd chants: “
Do not be afraid!
Do not be afraid!
We are all together!
".
The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said it was "
extremely concerned about videos coming out of Sharif University and Tehran today showing a violent crackdown on protests
" .
.
At least 92 people killed
At least 92 people have been killed in Iran by the crackdown since the start of the protests, according to this agency, which is trying to assess the death toll despite internet shutdowns and blockages of applications such as WhatsApp or Instagram and d other online services in Iran.
Iranian authorities claim that around 60 people, including 12 members of the security forces, have been killed since September 16.
Read alsoFrom Tehran to Paris, the journey of an artist pursued by Iranian censorship
In addition, 41 other people died during clashes on Friday in the province of Sistan-Baluchistan (southeast), according to the IHR citing local sources, without being able to specify whether this violence is linked to the death of Mahsa Amini.
