Iranians march in pro-government rallies against nationwide riots
Tehran, Sep 23 (EFE).- Thousands of Iranians marched on Friday in pro-government demonstrations against the nationwide protests over the death of a young woman in police custody that have rocked the country.
The demonstrators chanted slogans in favor of Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei while shouting “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.
“I am against the riots, we are in an Islamic country and the hijab is part of the laws,” a female protester told Efe.
“I don’t agree with people deciding if they want to wear the hijab or not because many young people have died for the Islamic Revolution,” the protester, who did not reveal her name to Efe, added.
The pro-government marches are part of the Iranian government’s strategy to put an end to protests over Mahsa Amini’s death.
The 22-year-old was arrested on September 13 by the morality police for violating the country’s strict Islamic dress code. She collapsed at a detention center and spent three days in a coma before dying in hospital on September 16. Amini’s family has denied she suffered from any illness.
The incident sparked a series of anti-regime protests across some 20 Iranian cities in which at least 17 people have died.
Authorities insist that the protests are being incited by a foreign enemy with the help of intelligence agencies and embassies from other countries.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian women have been required to wear veils as per a decree by former supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini.EFE
ar-jlr/mp
