Iran’s security forces crack down on protests a year after Mahsa Amini’s death

 

 Iranian security forces cracked down on protests in Kurdish areas of the country, a year after the young woman’s death in custody set off some of the worst political unrest in four decades.

The Revolutionary Guards detained a dual national suspected of “trying to organise unrest and sabotage”, the official news agency IRNA reported, one of several arrests of “counter revolutionaries” and “terrorists” reported.

The death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman arrested by the morality police last year for allegedly flouting mandatory dress codes, triggered months of some of the biggest protests against the Islamic Republic’s Shi’ite clerical rule ever seen and drew international condemnation.

espite the heavy security presence on Saturday, there were indications of protest actions at various points around the country. Videos posted on social media showed people gathered on a main avenue in the capital Tehran cheering a young protesting couple as drivers honked their car horns in support.

IRNA reported that fire engulfed the women’s ward at the Qarchak prison in Tehran province before being put out after convicts awaiting execution set fire to their clothes. It said there were no casualties.