The US President, Joe Biden has reacted to the viral brutal security video on how women are treated during protests in Iran.
Biden called on Iranian leaders to end the violence against their own citizens who have taken part in anti-establishment protests in the past weeks triggered by the death of a young woman following her arrest by the morality police in Tehran.
Women “should be able to wear in God’s name what they want to wear,” he said on October 14 during a speech in California. “Iran has to end the violence against its own citizens simply exercising their fundamental rights.”
Biden said he was “stunned” by the mass protests in Iran, which has seen its biggest wave of demonstrations in years following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, and how the government is reacting to it.
Addressing the issue in a statement, Biden said:
“I want you to know that we stand with the citizens, the brave women of Iran. It stunned me what it awakened in Iran. It awakened something that I don’t think will be quieted for a long, long time.”
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hailed the courage of anti-government protesters in Iran as he met on October 14 in Washington with activists originally from the country.
The protesters have shown “remarkable displays of courage throughout Iran as women, young people, and many others continue to stand up for the fundamental rights that continue to be denied them by the Iranian regime.” He said.
“In the wake of Mahsa Amini’s death and the spontaneous demonstration of outrage that this has produced, I think we are seeing something that is quite remarkable throughout the country, led primarily by women and young people.”
Human rights organizations have said at least 201 people have been killed in a crackdown by security forces.
