At least 215 dead in Iran crackdown on month-long protests: rights group

At least 215 people, including 27 children, have been killed in Iran's crackdown on a month of nationwide protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, the Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Monday.

"The reckless state violence which has even targeted children and prisoners, along with the false narratives presented by Islamic Republic officials, make it more crucial than ever for the international community to establish an independent mechanism under the supervision of the UN to investigate and hold the perpetrators of such gross human rights violations accountable,” the group's director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said.

1. The number of people killed in the current nationwide protests has increased to at least 215 people, including 27 children. Violent attacks and crackdowns against school children have caused public outrage in many cities.#IranRevolution #مهسا_امینیhttps://t.co/pyGt81Xw9Q pic.twitter.com/UW0vpi55Lc

— Iran Human Rights (IHR NGO) (@IHRights) October 17, 2022

Protests erupted across Iran on 16 September, when Amini died three days after falling into a coma following her arrest in Tehran by the morality police for an alleged breach of the Islamic republic's strict dress code for women.

Earlier on Saturday, a fire broke out at the notorious Evin prison where eight people died, according to officials. Several political prisoners were badly beaten and transferred to Rajai Shahr Prison that night or the next day, according to IHR. 

Last month, Iranian security forces also killed at least another 93 people during separate clashes in the city of Zahedan, in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan, IHR said in a statement.

The violence in Zahedan erupted on 30 September during protests that were triggered by anger over the reported rape of a teenage girl by a police commander in the region.