Iranians from all walks of life have been protesting since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police
What began as outrage over Amini’s death on Sept. 16 has evolved into one of the toughest challenges to clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution, with some protesters calling for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
One video showed a member of Basij forces firing a gun at close range at students protesting at a branch of Azad University in Tehran. Gunshots were also heard in a video shared by rights group HENGAW from protests at the University of Kurdistan in Sanandaj. Videos from universities in some other cities also showed Basij forces opening fire at students.
More than 14,000 people have been arrested, including 253 students, in protests in 132 cities and towns, and 122 universities, it said. Niloofar Hamedi took a photo of Amini’s parents hugging each other in a Tehran hospital where their daughter was lying in a coma. The arrests match an official narrative that Iran’s arch-enemy the United States, Israel and other Western powers and their local agents are behind the unrest and are determined to destabilise the country.
An official said on Sunday the establishment had no plan to retreat from compulsory veiling but should be “wise” about enforcement.