Mahsa Row: Almost 57 Died During The Protest, Internet Is Shut, Says Report

Iranians on Streets for a Tenth Consecutive...

Ahead of the fierce attack by the Iranian Protesters over 22 years old Mahsa Amini's death in police custody, Iranians took to the streets for a tenth consecutive, in defiance of a warning from the judiciary.

At least 41 people have died since the unrest began, mostly protesters but including members of the Islamic republic's security forces, according to an official toll, although other sources say the exact figure is higher.

The Oslo-based group Iran, Human Rights (IHR) on Sunday evening said the toll was at least 57, but noted that ongoing internet blackouts were making it increasingly difficult to confirm fatalities in a context where the women-led protests have in recent nights spread to scores of cities.

Echoing a warning the previous day by President Ebrahim Raisi, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei on Sunday "emphasised the need for decisive action without leniency" against the core instigators of the "riots", the judiciary's Mizan Online website said.

Hundreds of demonstrators, reformist activists and journalists have been arrested amid the mostly night-time demonstrations since unrest first broke out after Amini's death on September 16.

The 22 years old Mahsa, whose Kurdish first name was Jhina, was detained three days before that for allegedly breaching the rules that mandate tightly-fitted hijab head coverings and which ban, among other things, ripped jeans and brightly coloured clothes.

Ahead of the protest, Images circulated by IHR showed protesters on the streets of Tehran, shouting "death to the dictator", purportedly after nightfall on Sunday.

Several Witnesses told AFP that protests in several locations were ongoing.

Iran's largest protests in almost three years have seen security forces fire live rounds and birdshot, rights groups charge, while protesters have hurled rocks, torched police cars and set ablaze state buildings.

Some Iranian women protesters have removed and burnt their hijabs in the rallies and cut off their hair, some dancing near large bonfires to the applause of crowds that have chanted "zan, Zindagi, azadi" or "woman, life, freedom".

The world has learnt of the violence largely through shaky mobile phone footage posted on social media, even as authorities have throttled internet access.

Following the largest, social media such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and Telegram are banned.

Web monitor NetBlocks noted "rolling blackouts" and "widespread internet platform restrictions", with WhatsApp, Instagram and Skype already being blocked.

Protests abroad were held in solidarity with Iranian women in Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Istanbul, Madrid, New York and Paris, among other cities.