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Al-Monitor — Iranian riot police opened fire on a crowd of protesters outside the western city of Khorramabad as they marked 40 days since the death of teenage girl Nika Shakarami.
According to opposition media outlets and viral videos on social media, security forces shot bullets and tear gas at rock-throwing protesters at the cemetery, but it was not immediately clear if there had been casualties.
The protesters were earlier heard chanting slogans against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. “This is the last message, the target is the establishment,” they shouted, indicating that the ongoing protests were meant to topple the Islamic Republic. Elsewhere, they were collectively singing a famous traditional song, “O mother, it’s war time,” in the local Lori dialect.
Nika died last month in the early days of the unrest that was sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in Tehran. Her case has been one of the most complicated among the deceased protesters, grabbing worldwide media attention. Iranian authorities say she fell off a five-story building in central Tehran, but her mother, Nasrin Shakarami, has told foreign media that Nika was killed hours after she attended a protest in Tehran. Shakarami has confirmed her daughter’s identity in a video that went viral after her death, showing her on an upturned litter bin, twirling her burning headscarf at a chaotic protest at Tehran’s Laleh Park.
The ceremony in Khorramabad was held one day after Iranians similarly marked the 40th day since Mahsa Amini’s death in an estimated 30 cities, including almost the entirety of the capital Tehran. Protests that continued through midnight saw violent moments and dramatic scenes, including one in the city of Amol, where empty-handed, hijabless young women confronted police forces.
As demonstrators were raging, an Islamic State-claimed attack on a religious site in the city of Shiraz left 15 worshippers dead. Iranian authorities and claim a security vacuum caused by the “enemy-backed riots” opened up the path for “terrorists.” Opposition activists, on the other hand, argue that the establishment is exploiting the attack to deflect attention from the anti-government rallies, and to mobilize religious loyalists for a harsher crackdown.
Deadly clashes in Mahabad
As the 40th day after a death is commonly mourned by Iranians, protesters are expected to keep the momentum with a repeat of such rallies for other dead protesters in the days and weeks to come.
Also on Thursday, demonstrators attacked several state buildings the Kurdish city of Mahabad, including the governorate office, a bank branch and a police station.
At least three protesters, including a woman, were killed in shooting by government forces, according to the Kurdish Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. State television confirmed the deaths, and the hard-line Tasnim News Agency denied reports that the city’s police commander was hospitalized after sustaining injuries in the scuffles.
The clashes followed a funeral ceremony for Esmail Moloudzadeh, yet another protester killed during last night’s ceremonies in memory of Mahsa Amini.
“Do not cry for your son,” crowds were heard chanting in presence of the grieving mother. “We will take his revenge.”
