Iranian security forces arresting children in school, reports claim

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Iranian schoolchildren were being arrested inside school premises on Sunday by security forces arriving in vans without licence plates, according to social media reports emerging from the country as the protests against the regime enter their fourth week.

The authorities also shut all schools and higher education institutions in Iranian Kurdistan on Sunday – a sign that the state remains concerned about dissent after weeks of protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22 year-old Kurdish woman.

Footage showed protests in dozens of cities across Iran early on Sunday, with hundreds of high school girls and university students participating in the face of teargas, clubs, and, in many cases, live ammunition by the security forces, rights groups said. Tehran has denied that live bullets have been used.

On Saturday, Iran’s main news channel was briefly hacked and interrupted with images and messages in support of the continuing protests. Footage of the supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, in a meeting with state officials was replaced by images of protesters who have died.

An image showing Khamenei in crosshairs and in flames was also aired during the interruption, for which the hacktivist group Edalat-e Ali claimed responsibility. The images were accompanied by the words “join us and rise up.”

The semi-official Tasnim news agency confirmed that the state TV news broadcast “was hacked for a few moments by anti-revolutionary agents.”

The scale of the continuing protests is disputed, with government officials claiming western backed media are giving a false picture of scattered gatherings that quickly dissolve once the security forces arrive. But the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group said on Saturday that at least 185 people, including at least 19 children, have been killed in the nationwide demonstrations.

Supporters of the protests, sparked by the death of Amini after being arrested by the morality police in Tehran for not wearing the hijab correctly, say the persistence and originality of the often spontaneous demonstrations shows the depth of alienation among a younger generation to an elderly and socially reactionary ruling class that is out of touch with their values and attitudes.

Despite the pictures of vans arriving at schools, Mohammad Mahdi Kazem, an Iranian education minister said no expulsions from schools had been issued. He said parents of students involved in the protests are being contacted.

The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, met with security officials to discuss how to make the clampdown more effective. Afterwards, Iran’s deputy interior minister, Seyyed Mirahmadi said: “Yesterday, aside from Tehran and Sanandj, the country was completely peaceful … From now on, those who are arrested in the riots will stay in jail until put on trial. They will be rapidly prosecuted and their sentences will be decisive and set as a deterrent.”

Business groups said the repeated internet black-outs being imposed by the regime on platforms such as Instagram is severely damaging business activity, with the sales of small to medium sized enterprises down between 40 and 70%. Security officials are nervous of relaxing the controls for fear of allowing protesters to send out live pictures of what is happening, as well as enabling them to remain in better contact with one another.

The Oslo-based Kurdish human rights group Hengaw claimed security forces shot at the protesters in Sanandaj and Saqqez, with two protesters killed on Saturday. It said in total 18 minors had been killed.

The group later said clashes were continuing into the night in Sanandaj and Saqez, along with Kermanshah, Bukan, and Fardis. The widely followed Twitter account of Tavsir1500 that sends out videos of the protests also reported shootings at demonstrators in Sanandaj and Saqez.

Videos shared by Hengaw showed young women or girls chanting “Woman, life, freedom!” at a school in Saqez, Amini’s home town in Kurdistan Province.

The German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, vowed again that the EU would impose travel bans and asset freezes on Iranian officials trying to suppress the protests. She told Bild am Sonntag newspaper: “Anyone who beats up women and girls in the streets, abducts people who want nothing more to live freely … is on the wrong side of history.”

A state coroner’s report on Friday said Amini’s death was not caused by any blow to the head and limbs. It did not say whether she suffered any injuries.

The report linked Amini’s death to pre-existing medical conditions, an explanation rejected by her family.

Two other teenagers were killed in the protests, according to their mothers. The state claims both fell from rooftops in separate suicides, partly due to internal family disputes.