Tehran, Iran

At least 448 people have perished in the more than two months of protests that have been instigated by Mahsa Amini's death while being held by the morality police, reports said citing human rights groups. 

The reports came even as an Iranian general acknowledged deaths of over 300 people in the protests.

Advertisment

The Islamic Republic has sent in state security forces to quell what it refers to as "riots" that started after the Kurdish Iranian woman, 22, who was detained for allegedly breaking Iran's dress code for women, died on September 16, three days after her arrest. 

According to Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), "Everyone in the country has been affected by the death of this lady."

In a video released by the Mehr news agency, Hajizadeh, head of the Guards' aerospace division said, "I don't have the latest figures, but I think we have had perhaps more than 300 martyrs and people killed." Among them are some of "the best sons of the country", he added.

Advertisment

The death toll includes people who have taken to the streets as well as numerous police officers, soldiers, and IRGC militia members who were murdered elsewhere or in conflicts with protesters. 

Also Read: Australia’s Great Barrier Reef should be placed on world heritage ‘in danger’ list: UN Report

The most recent death toll is far higher than the estimate of at least 416 people "killed in the suppression of protests in Iran" provided by the non-governmental organisation Iran Human Rights, based in Oslo. 

Advertisment

The organisation claims that its death toll includes those slain in Amini protest-related violence as well as other specific turmoil in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, near the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan.

(with inputs from agencies)