Newly leaked state documents and witness accounts expose a systematic campaign of violence by Iranian security forces during last year’s women-led protests, detailing coordinated efforts to kill, torture, and sexually abuse hundreds of demonstrators. The unrest, sparked by the death in custody of a young woman after her arrest for alleged hijab violations, saw tens of thousands—including children—protesting across the country in September 2022. The revelations suggest the regime’s early crackdown laid the groundwork for even more brutal suppression of dissent in the months that followed. Investigations now aim to uncover the full scale of the state’s repression in response to the largest anti-government demonstrations in years.
Leaked documents and testimony reveal extent of regime’s crackdown in 2022 and how it paved the way for more brutal killings of protesters this yearIranian security forces “coordinated” the killing, torture and sexual abuse of hundreds of people who took part in the women-led nationwide protests in September 2022, according to leaked state documents and interviews.Tens of thousands of people, including children, took to the streets of towns and cities across Iran after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, after her arrest by the “morality” police for allegedly not complying with the country’s hijab regulations. Continue reading...
