Iranian police shoots at mourners marking Jina Mahsa Amini's death | DW News

Thousands of mourners gathered outside the grave of Jina Mahsa Amini, whose death sparked nationwide protests, as Wednesday marked the end of the traditional mourning period in Islam.

Demonstrators made their way to the grave in the city of Saqez in Kurdistan province on foot, after Iranian security forces blocked the routes leading to the city. Others used their vehicles to navigate alternative routes.

Security forces later opened fire on the protesters, according to a rights monitor and a witness on the ground.

"Security forces have shot tear gas and opened fire on people in Zindan square, Saqez city," Hengaw, a Norway-based group tweeted without specifying whether there were any dead or wounded.

The mass protests against Iran's authoritarian government were triggered by the death of the 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman while in police custody in mid-September. The morality police had arrested her for allegedly not complying with a headscarf mandate.

At least 141 demonstrators have been killed in the protests gripping Iran since Amini's death on September 16, as per local rights groups. Some groups are citing a death toll as high as 250.

Since her death, young women and schoolgirls have been at the forefront of the protests, which have received a violent response.

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