Hundreds rallied in Washington and tens of thousands in Berlin on Saturday in a show of international support for demonstrators facing a violent government crackdown in Iran, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of that country’s morality police.
Sima Mohair, foreground center, participates in a rally calling for regime change in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by Iran’s notorious “morality police,” in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
On the U.S. National Mall, several hundred men and women of all ages — donning green, white and red, the colors of the Iran flag — chanted. “Be scared. Be scared. We are one in this,” some shouted, ahead of the group’s march to the White House. “Say her name! Mahsa!”
A portrait of Mahsa Amini is held during a rally calling for regime change in Iran following the death of Amini, a young woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by Iran’s notorious “morality police,” in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
The demonstrations, put together by grassroots organizers from around the United States, drew Iranians from across the Washington D.C. area, with some travelling down from Toronto to join the crowd.
Members of the District of Columbia’s Kurdish community demonstrate in front of the White House in Washington, Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022, after the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been detained by the morality police in the capital, Tehran, for allegedly wearing her mandatory Islamic headscarf too loosely. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
The Biden administration has said it condemns the brutality and repression against the citizens of Iran and that it will look for ways to impose more sanctions against the Iranian government if the violence continues.
A man gestures as people attend a protest against the Iranian regime, in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Islamic republic’s notorious “morality police”. The 22-year-old died in Iran while in police custody on Sept. 16 after her arrest three days prior for allegedly violating its strictly-enforced dress code. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
In Tehran, more antigovernment protests took place Saturday at several universities. The nationwide movement in Iran first focused on the country’s mandatory hijab covering for women following Amiri’s death on Sept. 16. The Iranian protests have since transformed into the greatest challenge to the Islamic Republic since the 2009 Green Movement over disputed elections.
People attend a protest against the Iranian regime, in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Islamic republic’s notorious “morality police”. The 22-year-old died in Iran while in police custody on Sept. 16 after her arrest three days prior for allegedly violating its strictly-enforced dress code. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Iran’s security forces have dispersed gatherings in that country with live ammunition and tear gas, killing over 200 people, including teenage girls, according to rights groups.
A woman shouts during a protest against the Iranian regime, in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Islamic republic’s notorious “morality police”. The 22-year-old died in Iran while in police custody on Sept. 16 after her arrest three days prior for allegedly violating its strictly-enforced dress code. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
In Berlin, nearly 40,000 people gathered turned out to show solidarity for the women and activists leading the movement for the past few weeks in Iran. The protests in Germany’s capital, organized by the Woman(asterisk) Life Freedom Collective, began at the Victory Column in Berlin’s Tiergarten park and continued as a march through central Berlin.
People attend a protest against the Iranian regime, in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Islamic republic’s notorious “morality police”. The 22-year-old died in Iran while in police custody on Sept. 16 after her arrest three days prior for allegedly violating its strictly-enforced dress code. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Some demonstrators there said they had come from elsewhere in Germany and other European countries to show their support.
“It is so important for us to be here, to be the voice of the people of Iran, who are killed on the streets,” said Shakib Lolo, who is from Iran but lives in the Netherlands. “And this is not a protest anymore, this is a revolution, in Iran. And the people of the world have to see it.”
People attend a protest against the Iranian regime, in Berlin, Germany, Saturday, Oct. 22, 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the Islamic republic’s notorious “morality police”. The 22-year-old died in Iran while in police custody on Sept. 16 after her arrest three days prior for allegedly violating its strictly-enforced dress code. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Several weeks of Saturday solidarity rallies in the U.S. capital have drawn growing crowds.
