Thousands gather in Toronto for freedom rally in support of Iranian women
Posted October 8, 2022 4:47 pm.
Last Updated October 8, 2022 4:56 pm.
Thousands have gathered outside Queen’s Park in Toronto to protest the Iranian government and to show solidarity for 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Roughly 50,000 people protested last weekend in Richmond Hill and marched on Yonge Street in support of the Global Freedom Rally for Iran.
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Toronto police say officers on the scene were informed the rally could turn into a march, which could result in additional traffic delays. Motorists are being advised to consider alternate routes.
Amini was a young woman beaten to death by Iranian police for not properly wearing a hijab, and officials say she died of a heart attack — a subject of much doubt and controversy.
Iran’s morality police detained Amini, though her specific violation of the state’s Islamic dress codes was unclear. She died in hospital on September 17.
Eyewitnesses, including other women detained at the time, say Amini was violently attacked by responding Iranian officers and died due to police brutality.
Global protests in support of Amini and Iranian women have followed. According to Iran Human Rights, at least 54 people have been killed, and hundreds of women have been detained and abused by authorities since September 25.
Anti-government demonstrations erupted Saturday in several locations across Iran as the most sustained protests in years against a profoundly entrenched theocracy entered their fourth week. At least two people were killed.
The Iranian protests have triggered demonstrations of support across Europe, including women cutting off locks of their hair, following Iranian women’s example.
