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State-organized demonstrations took place in several Iranian cities on Friday to counter anti-government unrest triggered by the death of a woman in police custody, with marchers calling for the execution of protesters.
The demonstrations followed the strongest warning from the authorities yet when the army told Iranians it would confront “the enemies” behind the unrest – a move that could signal the kind of crackdown that has crushed protests in the past.
Demonstrators condemned the anti-government protesters, calling them”Israel’s soldiers”, live state television coverage showed. They also shouted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”, common slogans the country’s clerical rulers use to try and stir up support for authorities and squelch opposition to their terrorist regime.
“Offenders of the Koran must be executed,” the crowds chanted.
Iranians have staged mass protests over the case of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died last week after being arrested by the morality police for wearing “unsuitable attire”.
The morality police, attached to Iran‘s law enforcement, are tasked with ensuring the respect of Islamic morals as described by the country’s clerical authorities.
Amini’s death has reignited anger over issues including restrictions on personal freedoms in Iran, strict dress codes for women, and an economy reeling from sanctions.
The Iranian army’s message on Friday, seen as a warning to protesters enraged by the death, read: “These desperate actions are part of the evil strategy of the enemy to weaken the Islamic regime.”
The military said it would “confront the enemies’ various plots in order to ensure security and peace for the people who are being unjustly assaulted.”
Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi also on Friday warned “seditionists” that their “dream of defeating religious values and the great achievements of the revolution will never be realized,” according to the AsrIran website.
The anti-government protests were especially strong in Amini’s home province of Kurdistan and nearby areas. State television said two caches of weapons, explosives, and communications gear were seized and two people were arrested in northwestern Iran which includes the border with Iraq where armed Kurdish dissident groups are based.
Video leaked out of the country showed police beating a woman protesting in Mashhad.
The beating of protesting women by the repressive forces of the regime in the streets of #Mashhad, North-Eastern #Iran.#Mahsa_Amini #مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/iMdxSvBPTR
— Ahmad Batebi (@radiojibi) September 20, 2022
Human rights group Hengaw said a general strike was held on Friday in Oshnavieh, Javanroud, Sardasht and other towns in the northwest where many of Iran‘s up to 10 million Kurds live.
Internet blockage watchdog NetBlocks said mobile internet has been disrupted in Iran for a third time.
“Live metrics show a nation-scale loss of connectivity on leading cellular operator MCI,” it said on Twitter.
Mobile internet had been partially reconnected overnight.
Twitter accounts linked to Anonymous “hacktivists” voiced support for the protests and said they had attacked 100 Iranian websites, including several belonging to the government.
Websites of the central bank, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several state-affiliated news agencies have been disrupted in recent days.
In the latest unrest, protesters in Tehran and other cities torched police stations and vehicles as outrage over Amini’s death showed no signs of abating, with reports of security forces coming under attack.
Iranian media reported the arrest of 288 “rioters” on Thursday.
Protests over Amini’s death have also taken place in other countries around the globe including Spain, Greece, Canada, and the Netherlands.
Copyright 2022 Thomson/Reuters