Omid Djalili says women ‘not scared’ as ‘conscious, organic movement’ is protesting in Iran
21 October 2022, 07:56 | Updated: 21 October 2022, 14:29
Omid Djalili speaks to James O'Brien amid Iran protests
Omid Djalili has told LBC’s James O’Brien that women are “not scared” as a “conscious, organic movement” is protesting in Iran.
His exchange with James occurred yesterday, on the date of October 20th 2022.
The exchange has come as Iran has been rocked by anti-government protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.
The comedian and actor told James that “this revolution has been coming for 43 years” in Iran.
He also told James that he thinks “this is a major feminist movement happening under our very eyes, and if we don't get behind it then shame on us really”.
Mahsa Amini died in custody after being arrested by Iran’s so-called morality police for allegedly not wearing the hijab in accordance with the Iranian regime’s strict standards.
Iranian authorities have said Mahsa suffered sudden heart failure after she was taken into custody, but her father Amjad Amini has denied that she had been in bad health.
Mr Amini has said that Mahsa’s 17-year-old brother Kiarash, who was there when Mahsa was detained, was told that his sister had been beaten.
Earlier this week, Norway-based Iran Human Rights said the number of people killed in nationwide protests in Iran had increased to at least 215 people, including 27 children.
Iran Human Rights Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said: “The reckless state violence which has even targeted children and prisoners, along with the false narratives presented by Islamic Republic officials, make it more crucial than ever for the international community to establish an independent mechanism under the supervision of the UN to investigate and hold the perpetrators of such gross human rights violations accountable.”
In a statement last week, Amnesty International said: "The Iranian authorities’ unrelenting brutal crackdown on what many in Iran consider an ongoing popular uprising against the Islamic Republic system has involved an all-out attack on child protesters who have courageously taken to the streets in search of a future without political oppression and inequality.
"Since the eruption of the uprising on 16 September 2022, Iran’s security forces have killed with absolute impunity at least 23 children and injured many more in a bid to crush the spirit of resistance among the country’s youth and retain their iron grip on power at any cost."
Earlier this month, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei blamed unrest on "America and the Zionist regime, and their employees".
You can watch the full exchange between Omid Djalili and James above.
