Police forces in Iran have allegedly shot at least 12 student protesters at Sharif University of Technology in Iran as anti-government demonstrations continue around the country.
The altercation occurred Sunday night, when riot police used non-lethal forms of ammunition, including tear gas and paintball guns, to break up student protests, the Guardian reports. The students, who numbered in the hundreds, were heard shouting “Woman, life liberty,” which has become a slogan of protesters around Iran in the past few weeks.
Protests first broke out in the country following the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by morality police in September for wearing her hijab, or head covering, improperly. Amini was allegedly beaten by police and later died while in custody.
Protesters have used Amini’s death as a rallying cry against government restrictions, specifically on women, that control much of Iranian daily life.
The Guardian reports that an Oslo-based human rights group has posted video of what is reportedly police chasing students, and removing detainees whose heads they have covered with black cloth.
On Monday, Iran’s leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, spoke publicly about the protests, accusing the United States of staging the demonstrations.
“These riots and insecurities were designed by America and the Zionist regime, and their employees,” he said, as reported by ABC News.
Sharif University of Technology has been shuttered following the altercations. Allegedly 300 students were arrested according to the school’s student association (as reported by ABC).
One professor and multiple university employees were also allegedly beaten by police.
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