Human rights organization: At least 522 killed in protests in Iran Absolute: GB supplies 14 main battle tanks +++ Makeiev: German tanks are “essential for survival”

According to research by human rights activists, at least 522 people have been killed in the systemic protests in Iran that have been going on for four months. The dead included 70 minors and 68 police and security forces, the US-based organization Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported Sunday.

Nearly 20,000 people were also arrested, 110 of them on charges that could carry a death sentence under Islamic law. Four protesters have already been executed. As of mid-September, protests have spread to more than 160 cities across the country, according to the HRANA report.

Iran itself has not yet provided any information about the deaths and arrests and has neither confirmed nor denied the HRANA reports on the matter.

The protests in Iran were provoked by the death of 22-year-old Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini. The moral police had arrested her because she did not comply with the mandatory rules for wearing a headscarf. The woman died in police custody on September 16. Since her death, thousands across the country have demonstrated against the government’s repressive course and Islamic rule system. (sda/dpa)