At least five killed, over 70 injured in Iran protests over Kurdish woman’s death: Watchdog

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least five people were killed and over 70 others were injured on Monday by Iranian security forces firing live ammunition during a wave of protests in the Kurdish areas of western Iran, decrying the death of a Kurdish woman in detention.

Two young men were killed by Iranian security forces in the town of Divandarreh in Iran’s Kurdistan province after protests broke out in the country over the killing of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini for alleged improper hijab, Arsalan Yarahmedi, the head of Hengaw Organization for Human Rights, told Rudaw English. 

Several hours later, the watchdog reported that two other people were killed in Saqqez city, where the protests originated from. One other death was reported in Dehgolan, Kurdistan province. The organization monitors human rights violations committed in the Kurdish areas of Iran using local sources.

At least seventy protestors have also been injured during the demonstrations, which Yarahmedi added are ongoing across Kurdish cities in western Iran. 

Hengaw also reported that a ten-year old girl had been shot in the head in the city of Bukan. She is reportedly in critical condition. 

Paris-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported that over 100 arrests had been made by Iranian police across the Kurdish areas. 

Amini was detained by Iran’s morality police while visiting the capital city of Tehran earlier this week. Hours later, she was taken to a hospital after collapsing in prison. Authorities claim that the cause of death was a heart attack, but human rights activists and witnesses say she was beaten in the police van. 

Her death sparked outrage across Iran’s western Kurdish region (Rojhelat) with thousands of civilians and activists taking to the streets to protest the suspicious circumstances surrounding the young woman’s demise.