Huge rally in Berlin in support for Iran protests
About 80,000 Iranians and their supporters have marched in Berlin, German police say, in solidarity with ongoing protests in Iran.
Saturday’s rally in the German capital is believed to have been the biggest so far held by the Iranian diaspora.
Iranians from across Europe chanted the slogan of the protesters “Women, Life and Liberty!”
In Iran itself, protests triggered by the death of a young woman in custody have entered the sixth week.
Mahsa Amini, 22 died after being arrested by morality police in Tehran on 13 September for allegedly wearing her headscarf too loosely.
The police denied reports that she was beaten on the head with a baton and said she suffered a heart attack.
On Saturday gatherings were held in several world capitals including Washington, where thousands have been marching.
Organisers of the Berlin rally put the number of protesters at closer to 100,000.
Their demands included more Western sanctions against Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard.
Iranian diplomats, the protesters said, should be thrown out of Western capitals.
“It’s breathtaking, it’s amazing,” one protester said. “It’s the first time that so many people in our nation are united regardless of their political beliefs before revolution and after revolution. I am really proud.”
Inside Iran, the authorities have cut off access to internet in many areas, but videos have appeared on social media showing demonstrators in at least several cities.
Iran’s Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) estimates that 244 protesters, including 32 children, have been killed by security forces in the crackdown.
It says more than 12,500 others have been detained, many of them young people and children.
Agencies