Protests flared in Iran for an eighth straight night over the death of a young woman arrested by the morality police, verified social media posts showed, hours after counter-demonstrations mobilised by authorities.
At least 50 people have been killed by security forces in the anti-government protests, Iran Human Rights, an Oslo-based organisation, said -- more than three times the official death count of 17, which includes five security personnel.
News agency AFP reported that protesters in Tehran and other Iranian cities torched police stations and vehicles earlier in the day as public outrage over the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, last week showed no signs of easing.
In a statement, publishing a toll after six days of protests, Iran Human Rights (IHR) director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said "the people of Iran have come to the streets to achieve their fundamental rights and human dignity... and the government is responding to their peaceful protest with bullets”.
IHR said it had confirmed protests taking place in over 30 cities and other urban centres, raising alarm over "mass arrests" of protesters and civil society activists.
Protests first erupted over the weekend in the northern province of Kurdistan, from where Amini originated, but have now spread across the country.
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