SW News:

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and leader of the government in the Senate, Penny Wong assured Australia’s support to the women in Iran amidst the protest against the Iranian authorities following the death of Mahsa Amini. She was arrested for allegedly wearing the hijab too loosely and later died in the police custody. 

In a statement released on 10th November, the minister condemned the Iranian government’s “deadly and disproportionate use of force” to suppress the protesters. 

Wong in the statement said that the government was frightened by the reports that hundreds of people were killed and many more injured including dozens of children as a result of the Iranian government’s “heavy-handed measure” to suppress the protests. 

The foreign minister also stated that “Iran’s human rights record has been a longstanding and serious concern for Australia and we have repeatedly raised our concerns with Iran in Canberra, Tehran and multilateral forums.” 

Wong continued by saying that the Australian government had contacted the Charged d Affairs of the Iranian Embassy in Canberra several times since the “protests began to raise concerns regarding Iranian authorities’ heavy-handed crackdown, adding that they “have also spoken to the Charge regarding media reports alleging intimidation of protestors in Australia'' 

Hundreds of people lost their lives across the country following the outbreak of the protests.