Demonstrations Persist in Iran as Chief Justice Warns of Security Forces' Low Morale

Nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic swept cities for a tenth night in a row on Sunday after a series of fiery altercations during the day between members of the public and police.

Large crowds again formed in different parts of Tehran, chanting slogans against the dictatorial regime and Ali Khamenei. Women set fire to their scarves on bonfires in the road. In residential zones of the city, people shouted from their balconies in support of the demonstrators.

در این ویدیو که از تهران منتشر شده است، دختران و زنان تهرانی روسری‌های خود را می‌سوزانند. آتش زدن روسری‌ها به یکی از نمادهای اعترضات ایران تبدیل شده است.
#مهسا_امینی #اعتراضات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/eMMtpGlUz9

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) September 25, 2022

 

امروز می‌خواستی راهپیمایی برگزار کنی تو دهن مردم بزنی؟
امشب مردم تف کردن تو روت!

تهران، سوم مهر#مهسا_امینی #اعتصابات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/s2jeoKLz0a

— Pouria Zeraati (@pouriazeraati) September 25, 2022

گزارش‌های متعددی از سر داده شدن شعارهای ضد حکومتی از پنجره‌های خانه‌ها در شهرهای ایران منتشر شده است. در این ویدئو که از پردیس منتشر شده شعارهایی علیه علی خامنه‌ای، رهبر جمهوری اسلامی شنیده می‌شود.
#مهسا_امینی #اعتراضات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/1HnRT3VHz8

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) September 25, 2022

People were also seen marching down the streets of Isfahan, Shiraz, Yazd, the Gohardasht neighborhood of Karaj and Bushehr. Even Bukan and Sanandaj in Kurdistan province, where a vast number of repressive forces had been stationed during the day, angry protesters blocked traffic and chanted “Woman, life, freedom”.

Protesters chant "don't be afraid, we're all in this together" in the city of Yazd tonight on day 10 of demonstrations over the death of #MahsaAmini. This is significant as Yazd is one of Iran's most traditional and religious major cities.#مهسا_امینیpic.twitter.com/KWLfTMVSDi

— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) September 25, 2022

Upwards of 80 people are known to have been killed since protests erupted over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who was hospitalized in a coma after being abducted off the street by Tehran’s morality patrol.

Many of the protesters who lost their lives were young people. The sister of one of them, Javad Heydari, chopped off her hair at her brother’s graveside yesterday in a symbolic gesture against the Islamic Republic.

🎥در مراسم خاکسپاری جواد حیدری، از کشته‌شدگان اعتراضات به قتل مهسا امینی، خواهرش موهایش را بر مزار برادر قیچی می‌کند. اعتراضات در ایران با سرکوب شدید حکومت همراه بوده است ولی تا کنون نتوانسته‌اند مقاومت مردم را بشکنند.

#مهسا_امینی #اعتراضات_سراسری pic.twitter.com/CJALdr8Wl1

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) September 25, 2022

Fierce clashes took place between protesters and the police yesterday. In many cases the latter seemed to be outnumbered. In Hormozgan, a street fight broke out that saw uniformed officers flee the scene.

In a shocking incident captured on camera in Tehran, a plainclothes officer and three helmeted riot police physically manhandled a lone female protester who was hurled to the ground, hitting her head on the kerb.

اصلا جدول خودش خودشو کوبونده به سر این دختر، #مهسا_امینی رو اینا نکشتن. pic.twitter.com/6bIaMI42QQ

— بیتا بهنام هستم 🏳️ (@Runner007Road) September 24, 2022

During the November 2019 protests it was claimed that some regime forces, notably the Basij, had placed children aged under 18 in harm’s way by recruiting them to fight protesters.

On Sunday the Twitter account 1500tasvir, which monitors protests in Iran, published two pictures that appeared to show young people in uniform, seemingly co-opted into the ranks of the Basij.

At the same time, in some areas at least security forces are understood to be buckling under the pressure. A video was also published on Sunday in which Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said morale was low and many regime foot soldiers hadn’t slept for days.

#Iran's Chief Justice, Mohseni-Eje'i tells someone over the phone that security forces haven't slept for days.

Security forces are shaken, tired, and broken with very low morale.

And protesters intend to make good use of this. #IranProtests #MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/61vUjCeqeS

— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) September 26, 2022

The hacktivist group Anonymous continued its assault on Iranian state digital infrastructure at the weekend. Yesterday evening the organization broke into the website of the Iranian parliament, sharing the contact details of every sitting MP.

Sunday’s protests coincided with huge demonstrations in other parts of the world, including Stockholm, London, Paris, Toronto, Ottawa and Rome, in solidarity with the protesting Iranian people.

Also last night, Iran Human Rights reported that its total count of people confirmed killed since the protests began had risen to 57, compared to the IRIB's 35. The NGO added that internet disruption had made it impossible to verify a large number of the reports received.

Among them was Behnam Layeghpour, a tattoo artist who was shot dead in Rasht on September 23. In his last post on Instagram, Behnam had said he was shuttering his business in solidarity with the protesters. His family have reported the authorities refused to hand back his body, and coerced them into signing a document saying he had had a "heart attack". 

#بهنام_لایقپور در رشت با شلیک ماموران امنیتی کشته شد. او هنرمند تتوکار بود. در آخرین پستش از تعلیق فعالیت‌هایش به احترام مردم ایران نوشته بود.
نزدیکانش می‌گویند پیکرش را به خانواده تحویل نداده و آنها را مجبور کرده‌اند که امضا کنند که بهنام سکته قلبی کرده. #مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/B44awWlsm5

— Farin Assemi (@FareenAssemi) September 23, 2022

More footage of security forces shooting directly at protesters emerged overnight. The country's Council of Student Unions reported that Hossein Ali Kia, an electrical engineering student at Mazandaran University of Science and Technology, had been killed, while the Teachers' Union announced the death of an educator named Rouzbeh Khademi in Karaj on Sunday evening.

Two citizens were also reported killed in Garmsar, southeast of Tehran: Mehdi Asghari, and someone with the surname Sarvari Rad, who was said to have been shot by Basij forces.

Finally a young man named Morteza Nowrouzi, born in the year 2000, was said to have been killed in the city of Langrod. He was shot dead on Saturday and according to his family, his body was removed to Rasht by security agents.