THE SNP has urged the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) to use the UK embassy in Tehran to assist and protect women protesting against Iran’s government.
Alyn Smith, the party’s foreign affairs spokesman, said the UK Government needed to do more.
State media claims 41 people have been killed since the riots against the country’s theocratic Shia Muslim regime began last month.
However, there’s speculation among human rights groups that the real numbers could be much higher.
The demonstrations – the largest the country has seen for decades – were sparked by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
She was detained by security forces for allegedly wearing the mandatory Islamic headscarf too loosely.
Her family says they were told she was beaten to death in custody.
Police have denied this, claiming Masha died of a heart attack.
Demonstrations have now spread to more than 80 towns and cities across the country.
The clerics who govern Iran have cracked down hard. They have blamed the protests on foreign entities who have seized on Masha’s death to foment unrest against the Islamic Republic.
In his letter to Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Mr Smith said the Islamic regime’s “violent and disproportionate response to these protests is particularly concerning.”
He added: “Tear gas and mass arrests have been deployed to quell demonstrations, whilst footage appears to show security personnel firing live ammunition on demonstrators in the north-western cities of Mahabad, Piranshahr, and Urmia [home to much of Iran’s Kurdish population].
“The Iranian Government has vowed to further crack down ‘with no leniency’ on ‘those who oppose the country’s security and tranquillity’ – an ominous indication of further mistreatment of protestors to come.”
Mr Smith asked the Foreign Secretary to detail what the UK embassy in Tehran is “doing to assist/protect protestors in Iran (particularly women).”
He also asks if the government is doing anything to support ethnic minorities in the country, and if representations have been made by the UK Government to their Iranian counterparts.
The FCDO said they had received the letter and would reply.
Last week, junior Foreign Office minister Lord Ahmad described Ms Amini’s death for dress code violations as “shocking.”
He said: "We are extremely concerned at reports of serious mistreatment of Ms Amini, and many others, by the security forces.
"We urge the Iranian government to investigate the circumstances of her death with rigour and transparency, and to hold to account anyone responsible.
"We call on Iran to respect the right to peaceful assembly, to exercise restraint and to release unfairly detained protesters.
"The use of violence in response to the expression of fundamental rights, by women or any other members of Iranian society, is wholly unjustifiable."
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