Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards called on the Islamic Republic's judiciary on Thursday to prosecute "those who spread false news and rumors" about a young woman whose death in police custody has triggered nationwide protests.
Protesters in Tehran and other Iranian cities torched police stations and vehicles earlier on Thursday as public outrage over the death showed no signs of easing, with reports of security forces coming under attack.
Mahsa Amini, 22, died last week after being arrested in Tehran for wearing "unsuitable attire." She fell into a coma while in detention. The authorities have said they would launch an investigation into the cause of her death.
In a statement, the Guards expressed sympathy with the family and relatives of Amini.
"We have requested the judiciary to identify those who spread false news and rumors on social media as well as on the street and who endanger the psychological safety of society and to deal with them decisively," the Guards, who have cracked down on protests in the past, said.
Pro-government protests are planned for Friday, Iranian media said.
"The will of the Iranian people is this: do not spare the criminals," said an editorial in the influential hardline Kayhan newspaper.
The protests over Amini's death are the biggest in the Islamic Republic since 2019. Most have been concentrated in Iran's Kurdish-populat
Iranian demonstrators taking to the streets during a protest over the death of a woman who was detained by the morality police, in downtown Tehran, Iran.
👉Iran is responding with a violent, deadly crackdown to nationwide protests triggered by last week’s death in police custody of a young woman accused of not wearing her hijab properly, with authorities acknowledging at least six people have been killed in several days of unrest.
In comments published Wednesday, Iranian officials said four people were killed in violent incidents in the northwestern province of Kurdistan while two more were killed in rioting in neighboring Kermanshah province.
Iranian authorities blamed the violence on counter-revolut
The Amnesty International report said the group recorded the killings of eight protesters by security forces on Monday and Tuesday, including four in Kurdistan, two in Kermanshah and two in West Azerbaijan province. It said the dead include six men, one woman and one child.
Iran protests around the world.
👉A group of Iranians living in Istanbul and Turkish citizens gathered Wednesday in front of the Iranian Consulate in Istanbul to protest the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody in Tehran.
Istanbul police, who on Tuesday repeatedly dispersed groups that gathered in Taksim Square, watched the action from afar.
During the demonstration, at least three women cut their hair to protest the treatment of Amini, who was detained by Iran's morality police because she didn't wear her headscarf correctly and therefore her hair was showing. She later died while in custody.
Protesters shouted slogans in Persian, Turkish and Kurdish. The Turkish chants included, "We do not keep silent, we do not fear, we do not obey," and "My body, my decision."
The Persian and Kurdish slogans included, "Women live freely" and "We do not want a mullah regime."
Banners carried by the group of about 300 people included harsh criticism against Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and the Iranian regime.
A woman throws her hijab into a fire on a street in Sari, Iran. Protests have swelled over the death of a young woman arrested by morality police tasked with enforcing a strict dress code for women.
👉Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards called on the Islamic Republic's judiciary on Thursday to prosecute "those who spread false news and rumors" about a young woman whose death in police custody has triggered nationwide protests.
Protesters in Tehran and other Iranian cities torched police stations and vehicles earlier on Thursday as public outrage over the death showed no signs of easing, with reports of security forces coming under attack.
Mahsa Amini, 22, died last week after being arrested in Tehran for wearing "unsuitable attire." She fell into a coma while in detention. The authorities have said they would launch an investigation into the cause of her death.
In a statement, the Guards expressed sympathy with the family and relatives of Amini.
"We have requested the judiciary to identify those who spread false news and rumors on social media as well as on the street and who endanger the psychological safety of society and to deal with them decisively," the Guards, who have cracked down on protests in the past, said.
Pro-government protests are planned for Friday, Iranian media said.