Thousands march in Brussels on anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death

The Tehran government has accused the United States and Israel and their local agents of fomenting the unrest to destabilize Iran.

 People hold a placard with pictures of, as Iranian call them, martyrs, during a rally of Iranian diaspora in Europe, on the eve of the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, which prompted protests across their country, in Brussels, Belgium September 15, 2023. (photo credit: REUTERS)
People hold a placard with pictures of, as Iranian call them, martyrs, during a rally of Iranian diaspora in Europe, on the eve of the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, which prompted protests across their country, in Brussels, Belgium September 15, 2023.
(photo credit: REUTERS)

Iranian emigrants marched in Brussels on Friday, the eve of the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman whose death in the custody of Iran's morality police sparked months of anti-government protests.

Thousands of demonstrators, holding up pictures of Amini and many others killed in the protests, called for the overthrow of Iran's theocracy and the establishment of a democratic republic.

Organizers said they had also demanded a unified European Union policy to hold Iran's Shi'ite clerical rulers accountable for abuses.

The protests that followed the death of Amini, arrested for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic's mandatory dress code, spiraled into the biggest show of opposition to the Iranian authorities in years.

What was the outcome of Iran's protests over the death of Mahsa Amini?

Over 500 people including 71 minors were killed, hundreds injured and thousands arrested, rights groups say, in unrest that was eventually crushed by security forces.

 Iranian diaspora in Europe take part in a rally on the eve of the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini which prompted protests across the country, in Brussels (credit: REUTERS)
Iranian diaspora in Europe take part in a rally on the eve of the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini which prompted protests across the country, in Brussels (credit: REUTERS)

The Tehran government has accused the United States and Israel and their local agents of fomenting the unrest to destabilize Iran.