Hundreds Gather at Grave of Mahsa Amini at End of 40-Day Mourning Period

Hundreds of Iranian mourners gathered at the grave of Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in her hometown of Saqiz in the western province of Kurdistan, on the 40^th day after her death. In Islamic tradition, 40 days marks the end of the traditional mourning period. Amini’s death while in the custody of Iran’s morality police for not wearing her hijab properly sparked ongoing anti-government protests, led by the country’s women. The mourners gathered on Wednesday at the grave, chanting “woman, life, freedom” and “death to the dictator,” despite Iranian security officials having blocked the entrances to the city and deploying personnel in the city center. Later reports said that Iranian security forces shot tear gas and opened fire on the mourners. At least 233 people have been killed and thousands arrested since the start of the protests. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has accused both the US and Israel of fomenting the protests.