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A30 world news
Diaranson 21 september 2022

Iran faces global criticism, protests over woman's death

three foreign nationals had Iranian government to end managed to get a glimpse of
been arrested. He did not its systemic persecution of bruising on her foot.
specify the nationality of the women and to allow peaceful
embassies or the detainees. protest," he tweeted. Authorities then pressured
him to bury her at night, ap-
The U.N. body said Iran's Italy's Foreign Ministry parently to reduce the likeli-
morality police have ex- called for "the perpetrators of hood of protests, but Amini
panded their patrols in recent this cowardly act" to be held said the family convinced
months, targeting women to account, saying "violence them to let them bury her at
for not properly wearing the against innocent people, es- 8 a.m. instead.
Islamic headscarf, known as pecially women and girls, can
hijab. It said verified videos never be tolerated." Amini, who was Kurdish, was
show women being slapped buried Saturday in her home
in the face, struck with ba- Iranian Foreign Minister city of Saqez in western Iran.
tons and thrown into police Hossein Amirabdollahian re- Protests erupted there after
(AP) — Iran faced in- vans for wearing the hijab too jected the criticism, accusing her funeral and police fired
ternational criticism on Iranian officials dismissed the loosely. the U.S. of "shedding croco- tear gas to disperse dem-
Tuesday over the death criticism as politically moti- dile tears." onstrators on Saturday and
of a woman held by its vated and accused unnamed A similar patrol detained Sunday. Several protesters
morality police, which foreign countries of foment- 22-year-old Mahsa Amini were arrested.
ignited three days of pro- ing the unrest. last Tuesday, taking her to a Iranian police released
tests, including clashes police station where she col- closed-circuit video footage The protests spread to Teh-
with security forces in the Later on Monday, the semi- lapsed. She died three days last week purportedly show- ran and other cities on Mon-
capital and other unrest official Fars news agency re- later. Iranian police have de- ing the moment Amini col- day. A news website affiliated
that claimed at least three ported that small groups of nied mistreating Amini and lapsed. But her family says with state TV said 22 people
lives. protesters had again gathered say she died of a heart attack. she had no history of heart were arrested at a protest in
in downtown Tehran, chant- Authorities say they are in- trouble. the northern city of Rasht.
The U.N. human rights of- ing "Death to the dictator." vestigating the incident.
fice called for an investiga- It said the crowd numbered Amjad Amini, her father, The state-run broadcaster
tion. The United States, around 300 and that the pro- U.S. Secretary of State Ant- told an Iranian news website blamed the unrest on foreign
which is trying to revive the testers damaged street signs. ony Blinken said Amini that witnesses saw her being countries and exiled opposi-
2015 nuclear deal with Iran, "should be alive today." shoved into a police car. tion groups, accusing them
called on the Islamic Repub- The governor of Tehran of using Amini's death as a
lic to end its "systemic perse- province, Mohsen Mansouri, "Instead, the United States He said that when he arrived pretext for more economic
cution" of women. Italy also accused foreign embassies of and the Iranian people at the hospital he was not al- sanctions.
condemned her death. fanning the protests and said mourn her. We call on the lowed to view the body, but

Mexico's earthquake coincidence drives anxiety for many

(AP) — As the parents of children On the morning of Sept. 19, 1985, are they going to know about the cal- endar?"
killed when a school collapsed during an 8.0 magnitude earthquake devas-
Mexico's 2017 earthquake celebrated tated the center, south and west of the
a Mass in their memory, the ground country, leaving some 9,500 dead.
began to shake again.
"It's really strange, but a lot of people
"No, not again! My God, not again!" already don't like that day," said Jorge
they shouted when a magnitude 7.6 Ornelas, a call center coordinator. He
earthquake rattled the capital Mon- said a lot of his acquaintances begin
day, killing two people in the Pacific to worry about an earthquake come
coast state of Colima. September.
Three powerful earthquakes have "If we keep thinking that every Sept.
struck Mexico on Sept. 19 — in 1985, 19 it's going to shake, it's going to
2017 and now 2022. The unlucky co- continue happening every year, be-
incidence has driven anxiety high for cause what you think is always what
many. The last two quakes also came happens," the 35-year-old Ornelas
very shortly after the annual earth- said.
quake drill conducted every Sept.
19 to commemorate the devastating Xyoli Pérez-Campos, a researcher
1985 temblor. in the seismology department at the
National Autonomous University of
Mexico's national Civil Defense Co- Mexico's Geophysical Institute, said
ordinator Laura Velázquez said Tues- there was no physical reason for the
day that the two deaths in Colima coincidence of major earthquakes on
were due to parts of buildings col- a single day. Monday's earthquake was
lapsing. Ten people were injured -- the result of the "interaction of the
nine in Colima and one in neighbor- Cocos plate with the North America
ing Michoacan. plate," which also generated the 1985
earthquake.
More than 200 buildings were dam-
aged, including dozens of schools and Five plates -- the North America, the
health centers, she said. Most of the Pacific, the Rivera, the Caribbean and
damage was in those Pacific states, the Cocos -- all run under Mexican
close to the Michoacan epicenter. territory.
Some 20 Mexico City buildings were
damaged, but it was minor, she said. "The plates break when it's their time
to break," Pérez-Campos said. "What