Rights group says at least 76 dead as Iran protests rage despite violent crackdown

PARIS (AFP) — More than 75 people have been killed in the Iranian authorities’ crackdown against unrest sparked by the death of Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in morality police custody, a rights group said Monday.

The authorities last put the death toll at 41, including several members of the security forces.

Officials said Monday they arrested more than 1,200 people as the dragnet widens against the nationwide demonstrations over Amini’s death, following her arrest for allegedly breaching the country’s strict rules on hijab headscarves and modest clothing.

Tensions with Western powers grew as Germany summoned the Iranian ambassador and Canada announced sanctions, a day after the European Union deplored the crackdown and Tehran called in the British and Norwegian envoys.

Protests had flared for a tenth consecutive night on Sunday across Iran. A Tehran crowd shouted “death to the dictator,” calling for the end of more than three decades of rule by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 83, in footage shared by Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR). READ MORE