President Ebrahim Raisi on Saturday defended the Islamic Republic of Iran as the guarantor of rights and freedoms amid a crackdown on anti-government protests that the United Nations says have claimed more than 300 lives. have been done
A top state security agency, meanwhile, said 200 people, including members of the security forces, had lost their lives in the unrest, far lower than figures given by international organizations and rights groups.
The protests, now in their third month, erupted after the death of Mehsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, in the custody of Morality police, who enforce strict hijab laws.
The protests have turned into a mass uprising by angry Iranians from all walks of life, the biggest challenge to the leadership since the 1979 revolution.
Meanwhile, a social media video showed authorities demolishing the family home of Elnaz Rikabi, a climber who competed in an international competition in October without a headscarf. Rikabi later did so unintentionally, but was widely believed to have expressed support for the protests.
State media quoted the head of the judiciary in the northwestern province of Zanjan as saying the order to demolish the villa was issued four months ago because the family failed to obtain a construction permit.
Undaunted by the brutal crackdown, protesters chanted slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and repeatedly called for the overthrow of the regime.
Officials blame the coup on foreign enemies, including the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
“Iran has the most progressive constitution in the world” because it “marries ideals with democracy,” Raisi said in a speech to parliamentarians, citing an unnamed African lawyer he met several years ago.
“The Constitution guarantees (the existence of) the Islamic system,” he said, adding that it also “guarantees fundamental rights and legitimate freedoms.”
Judiciary’s Meezan News Agency quoted the Interior Ministry’s State Security Council as saying that 200 people lost their lives in recent “riots”.
Amir Ali Hajizada, a senior commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said on Monday that 300 people, including members of the security forces, have been killed in recent unrest.
Javaid Rehman, the UN-appointed independent expert on Iran, said on Tuesday that more than 300 people had been killed in the protests, including more than 40 children.
Rights group HRANA said 469 protesters had been killed as of Friday, including 64 minors. It said that 61 government security personnel were also killed. 18,210 protesters are believed to have been arrested.
A prominent Baloch cleric, Maulvi Abdul Hameed, has called for a referendum to end repression of protests through arrests and killings and to change Iran’s system of government.
“People’s protests have shown that the policies of the last 43 years are dead,” he said in late November.
