Iran protests: Lawmakers demand severe punishment for perpetrators 

Iranian lawmakers have called on the judiciary to “deal decisively” with perpetrators of unrest as widespread anti-government demonstrations continue across the country.

“We ask the judiciary to deal decisively with the perpetrators of these crimes and with all those who assisted in the crimes and provoked rioters,” 227 lawmakers from Iran’s 290-seat parliament said in a statement, according to state media.

Iran has struggled to suppress the biggest show of dissent in years following demonstrations after the death of young Kurdish Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, in police custody.

Weeks after Amini’s death, a coroner’s report denied Amini had died due to blows to the head while in custody, as claimed by her parents, and linked her death to past medical conditions.

The activist HRANA news agency said 318 protesters have been killed in the unrest as of Saturday, including 49 minors. Thirty-eight members of the security forces had also been killed, it added.

Also Read: Iran protests: Police Fire on Mahsa Amini Mourners

State media said last month that more than 46 security forces, including police, had been killed. Government officials have not provided an estimate of any wider death count.

Demonstrations continued in many cities on Sunday, from Tehran to the central city of Yazd and the northern city of Rasht, according to rights groups and videos on social media.

Students in a dozen universities, including in the northern cities of Rasht and Amol, held protests on Sunday chanting “death to Dictator“, a reference to Iran’s top authority Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to the unverified videos on social media.

Iranian leaders have vowed tough action against protesters they have described as rioters, accusing enemies including the United States of fomenting the unrest.

Zainab Sa’id