Iran probes police brutality video amid rising anger
November 2, 2022
Rights watchdog Amnesty International has demanded a UN investigation into police violence in Iran as Tehran vowed officers would be "dealt with according to the law."
Iranian Anti riot police regularly clash with protestersImage: SalamPix/ABACA/picture alliance
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Iranian authorities have ordered a probe into a viral video that allegedly shows police officers beating a protester in Tehran, Iranian media reported on Wednesday.
"The police do not approve of harsh and unconventional treatment, the offending police officers will certainly be dealt with according to the law," Iran's police said in a statement, according to state news agency IRNA.
Iran has been rocked by protests in recent weeks over the death of Jina Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman died in police custody after she was arrested by Iran's notorious morality police.
Protesters have since taken to the streets across the country to demand political change in a major challenge to the regime that has ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
'Shocking' video
The footage, supposedly shot on a mobile phone in a southern Tehran district, seems to show a group of around a dozen policemen kicking and beating a man with their batons in an alley.
According to the video, a police officer ran over the man with a motorbike and another shot him at close range.
"This shocking video sent from Tehran today is another horrific reminder that the cruelty of Iran's security forces knows no bounds," human rights watchdog Amnesty International wrote on Twitter.
Amnesty called on the UN Human Rights council to "urgently investigate these crimes."
Several other videos on social media have allegedly shown police beating protesters.
Rights groups have slammed police brutality in Iran. According to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR), 176 people have been killed and thousands arrested in the crackdown on protests.
"Instead of accepting people's legal demands, the Islamic Republic [of Iran] is clamping down with repressive measures and show trials," said IHR director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam.
Under pressure, Iranian leaders have consistently claimed that Western countries were fueling the unrest and avoided responding to the people's demands of political change.
fb/es (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Iran's regime struggles to end hijab protests
Schoolgirls have now joined the mass protests over the death of a young woman in police custody. These are some of the biggest anti-regime rallies that Iran has witnessed in recent years.
Image: SalamPix/abaca/picture alliance
Largest and boldest protests in years
Iranian authorities have been struggling to put an end to the demonstrations that have roiled the country for weeks. The protests against the leadership began following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after her arrest by Iran's so-called morality police for allegedly failing to observe the Islamic Republic's strict dress code for women.
Image: SalamPix/abaca/picture alliance
Schoolgirls join demonstrations
The anti-regime rallies are some of the largest and boldest seen in years. They have so far been largely led by young women and directed at the Islamic Republic's male and clerical leadership. But schoolgirls are also now taking part in them, removing their hijabs, chanting anti-government slogans and defacing images of the nation's leaders.
Image: SalamPix/abaca/picture alliance
A violent clampdown
The protests and street violence have so far led to dozens of deaths, mostly of protesters, but also of some members of the security forces. Rights groups say thousands of people have been arrested and hundreds injured in the clampdown launched by Iranian authorities.
Image: Wana News Agency via REUTERS
Clampdown on the press
Iranian security officials have arrested dozens of journalists and photographers since the unrest began. The government has stifled most independent reporting on sensitive issues, attempted to silence dissent and reinforced efforts to surveil and censor the public. Authorities have also disrupted the internet to hinder the flow of information.
Iran has repeatedly described the protests as a foreign plot to destabilize the country and accused outside forces of stoking the unrest. Tehran has also summoned several ambassadors from Western nations it accuses of meddling in the protests.
Image: Vahid Salemi/AP/picture alliance
Growing international solidarity
International support for the protests is on the rise. A Swedish member of the European Parliament, Abir al-Sahlani, cut off her hair in parliament this week in support of Iranian women and called for EU action against Tehran. Leading French actresses such as Juliette Binoche and Isabelle Huppert have also cut locks of their hair in solidarity.
Image: Francois Mori/AP/picture alliance
EU mulling more sanctions on Iran
EU lawmakers have adopted a resolution calling for sanctions against the authorities responsible for Amini's death and the subsequent clampdown on anti-regime protests. The resolution also called for an investigation into Amini's death. Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, has also said the bloc is considering slapping additional sanctions on Iran.
Image: EU Parlament
Counterdemonstrations amid clampdown
Supporters of Iran's theocratic government have been organizing counterprotests in an attempt to change the narrative and denounce the anti-government demonstrators. Some Iranians took part in a pro-government rally in the capital, Tehran, on October 5.
