Iran: Protesters brave bullets, tear gas as they demand downfall of the regime

Protests continued in Iran as people braved even bullets and tear gas on Saturday (October 8). The protests that started after the custodial death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini are now also demanding the downfall of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Amini was taken into custody on September 13 by Iran's morality police over 'inappropriate attire'. She died in custody three days later.

An Iranian state coroner's report has denied that Mahsa Amini had died due to blows to the head and limbs while in police custody and linked her death to pre-existing medical conditions, state media said on Friday.

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In nationwide protests that have followed Amini's death, women have removed their veils in defiance of the regime.

After a call for mass demonstrations on Saturday, security forces shot at protesters and used tear gas in the Kurdish cities of Sanandaj and Saqez, according to the Iranian human rights group Hengaw.

In Sanandaj, capital of Kurdistan Province in northwest Iran, one man lay dead in his car while a woman screamed "shameless", according to Hengaw.

The Iranian regime has sought to denounce protesters as 'rioters' on number of occasions. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi did the same in his recent address to the nation.

Also Read | Iran claims Mahsa Amini died of prior illness, not due to blows on head or body

Speaking at Alzahra University in Tehran, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi recited a poem in which he equated the "rioters" with flies.

"They imagine they can achieve their evil goals in universities. Unbeknownst to them that our students and professors are alert and will not allow the enemy to realise their evil goals," said Raisi, trying to shore up support for Iran's leaders.

(With inputs from agencies)

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