“Security forces fired tear gas and opened fire on people in Zindan square in Saqez,” the Norway-based human rights group Hengaw said on Twitter.
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“Woman, life, freedom” and “Death to the dictator” were some phrases shouted by hundreds of women and men gathered at the Aichi cemetery in Saqez, in Kurdistan province, western Iran, according to videos posted on social media. According to the Iranian agency Fars, almost two thousand people gathered at the place where Mahsa Amini was buried.
Internet access was blocked for “security reasons” in the Iranian city of Saghez, where she was originally from.
The 22-year-old died on September 16, after being detained three days earlier by moral police while visiting Tehran with her brother. She was accused of allegedly violating the Islamic Republic's strict dress code, which requires women to wear the veil.
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The young woman's death sparked a wave of protests across the country, led by women who defied the authorities and burned their veils. The repression of protests caused at least 141 deaths, including children, according to an updated report by the NGO Iran Humans Rigths (IHR).
This Wednesday (26), Amini's death completes 40 days, which marks the end of the traditional mourning period in Iran.
According to human rights activists, security forces warned the young woman's parents not to organize any ceremonies, not even in front of the tomb, and threatened the couple's son. Videos published earlier by the Hengaw group show police patrolling the streets of Saqqez, which has had its entrances blocked since Tuesday night (25).
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(With AFP)
