Iran situation ‘critical’ as 300 die – UN rights chief

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights says the situation in Iran is  critical” as authorities’ response to protests have caused over 300 deaths in two months.

Volker Turk, the spokesperson for U.N. Human Rights Chief, made this known at a Geneva news briefing on Tuesday.

He said that “the rising number of deaths from protests in Iran, including those of two children at the weekend, and the hardening of the response by security forces, underline the critical situation in the country”.

Since the death of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in morality police custody on Sept. 16, nationwide protests have enveloped the Islamic Republic.

Amini was slammed in detention after she was arrested for wearing clothes deemed “inappropriate”.

Tehran blamed foreign enemies and their agents for orchestrating the protests.

The protest had turned into a popular revolt by Iranians from all layers of society.

It has posed one of the boldest challenges to the clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution.

Iran’s World Cup team declined to sing their anthem before their opening World Cup match on Monday in a sign of support for the protests.

Diplomats, witnesses and victims are expected to attend a debate to be hosted on the protests by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.

A proposal for discussion at the session seeks to establish a fact-finding mission on the crackdown in Iran.

The mission can use any evidence of abuses found before national and international courts, a U.N. document showed.

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said over 300 people had died, including 40 children.

These deaths occurred across the country, with deaths reported in 25 of 31 provinces.

In the same briefing, OHCHR spokesperson, Jeremy Laurence, ex[ressed concerns about the situation in mainly Kurdish cities.

Reports say security forces had killed more than 40 people killed over the past week.

Iranian state media said more than 46 security forces, including policemen, died in the protests.

Government officials had not provided an estimate of any wider death count. (Reuters)