Dutch Rally to Support Iranian Protests

Thousands showed their support for Iranian protesters standing up to their leadership over the death of a young woman in police custody, during a demonstration in The Hague, Netherlands, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022.  (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Thousands showed their support for Iranian protesters standing up to their leadership over the death of a young woman in police custody, during a demonstration in The Hague, Netherlands, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
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Dutch Rally to Support Iranian Protests

Thousands showed their support for Iranian protesters standing up to their leadership over the death of a young woman in police custody, during a demonstration in The Hague, Netherlands, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022.  (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)
Thousands showed their support for Iranian protesters standing up to their leadership over the death of a young woman in police custody, during a demonstration in The Hague, Netherlands, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong)

Thousands of people held a demonstration Saturday in The Hague in support of protesters in Iran who have taken to the streets since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini following her arrest by the morality police.

Protesters - gathered on a central park in the city - waved flags and banners emblazoned with texts including “No to enforced headscarf in Iran,” “Justice can’t wait” and “Stop bloodshed in Iran.”

Several lawmakers from parties across the Dutch political spectrum also attended.

Saturday’s demonstration follows anti-government protests across Iran that were sparked by Amini's death.

The Iranian protests have triggered demonstrations of support across Europe, including by women cutting off locks of their hair, following Iranian women's example.

Oscar-winning French actors Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche, as well as other French screen and music stars, filmed themselves chopping off locks of their hair in a video posted Wednesday.

Dutch Justice Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius also cut off a lock of her hair during a live television talk show this week.

Anti-government demonstrations erupted Saturday in several locations across Iran.

Marchers chanted anti-government slogans and twirled headscarves. In some areas, merchants shuttered shops in response to a call by activists for a commercial strike or to protect their wares from damage.



Iran Police Commander Dismissed After Death in Custody

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
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Iran Police Commander Dismissed After Death in Custody

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)

Iran's police force has dismissed the commander of a city in the northern province of Gilan after the death in custody of a detainee, state media said on Saturday.

Mohammad Mir Mousavi, 36, was arrested on July 22 after being involved in a fight in Lahijan, police said in a statement carried by the official news agency IRNA.

"The police commander... was dismissed due to insufficient oversight of the conduct and behaviour of staff," the police said, AFP reported.

"Due to the complexity of the matter, the final conclusion on the cause of Mohammad Mir Mousavi's death depends on the medical examiner's final report.

The police said the station commander and several officers involved in the incident had been suspended.

"The behaviour of some law enforcement officers was against the professional policy of the police and that is not acceptable in any way, so they were referred to the judicial authority," the statement added.

The Norway-based Kurdish human rights organization, Hengaw, on Wednesday said Mir Mousavi "was killed under torture in the detention center".

On Thursday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered an investigation into the case.

Dismissals of members of the security forces are rare in Iran.

In 2022, the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman who had been arrested in Tehran for an alleged breach of the country's strict dress code for women, sparked months of deadly nationwide protests.