Thousands of protesters defy Iran's police and gather 40 days since Mahsa Amini's death

26 October 2022, 16:01 | Updated: 26 October 2022, 18:12

Thousands of mourners have amassed in the hometown of Mahsa Amini 40 days since her death in police custody which sparked protests across Iran.

Security forces have fired tear gas and live rounds in Zindan Square, Saqqez city, according to human rights campaigners, although it's not known if anyone has been killed.

On September 13, Ms Amini, 22, was arrested in her brother's car by Iran's notorious morality police while visiting family in Tehran for wearing her hijab too loosely, in breach of the country's strict dress code for women.

She was taken to hospital shortly afterwards, with her family and witnesses claiming she was severely beaten by officers, but authorities deny this and say she suffered from a heart attack.

Ms Amini, died three days after her admission, sparking the Islamic Republic's biggest anti-government movement in more than a decade.

Deaths are commemorated in Shiite Islam - as in many other traditions - again 40 days later, typically with an outpouring of grief.

In Ms Amini's Kurdish hometown of Saqez, crowds snaked through the local cemetery and thronged her grave, as protesters cried: "Death to the dictator!"

State-run media announced that schools and universities in north-western Iran would close, purportedly to curb "the spread of influenza". In central Tehran, shops were shuttered and riot police were out in force.

A group of schoolgirls marched through the streets, shouting against the government as cars stuck in traffic honked their support, witnesses said. Anti-government chants also echoed from the University of Tehran campus.

READ MORE: 'Shame on FIFA': Peter Tatchell hits out at World Cup organisers in Qatar protests

With the slogan #WomanLifeFreedom, the demonstrations first focused on women's rights and the state-mandated hijab, or headscarf for women.

Some women have been taking off or burning their hijabs in public despite the risk of punishment, while others have been cutting off their hair - a sign of beauty decreed to be hidden under Iran's strict religious law.

Protests in the country quickly evolved into calls to oust the Shiite clerics that have ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The protests have also galvanised university students, labour unions, prisoners and ethnic minorities like the Kurds along Iran's border with Iraq.

READ MORE: 'World's dirtiest man' who 'smoked dung' and 'ate roadkill' dies aged 94 after taking first bath in 50 years

READ MORE: Chanting crowds march in Germany and US in support of Iran demonstrators

Since the protests erupted, security forces have fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse demonstrations, killing more than 200 people, according to rights groups.

Untold numbers have been arrested, with estimates in the thousands. Iranian judicial officials announced this week that they would put more than 600 people on trial for their role in the protests, including 315 in Tehran, 201 in the neighbouring Alborz province and 105 in the south-western province of Khuzestan.

Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi told the state-run Irna news agency that four protesters have been charged with "war against God", which is punishable by death in Iran.

Iranian officials have blamed the protests on interference by foreign countries including Israel and the USA, without offering any evidence.