Amnesty: Iran ordered forces to ‘severely confront’ protests

Associated Press

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Amnesty International says leaked government documents show that Iran ordered its security forces to “severely confront” antigovernment demonstrations. The London-based rights group said Friday that security forces have killed at least 52 people since protests over the death of a woman detained by the morality police began nearly two weeks ago. It says they have fired live ammunition into crowds, beaten protesters with batons and groped female protesters who remove their headscarves to protest the treatment of women by Iran’s theocracy. The death in custody of a woman who was detained for allegedly wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf too loosely, has triggered an outpouring of anger at Iran’s ruling clerics.