Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) and Kurdish leaders expressed solidarity with protests taking place in dozens of cities of Iran, including the country’s Kurdistan region (Rojhilat) over the death of Kurdish woman Jina Amini (Mahsa).

KNK, a coalition of organisations from across Europe, issued a statement on Saturday regarding the protests in Iran and said the Kurdish struggle had entered another phase in confronting the totalitarian and dictatorial regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

“The presence of our people in the streets indicates the strong will to obtain their legitimate rights and achieve their demands.”

KNK pointed out that the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom” has spread throughout Iran and the world as well, and became a symbol of a free nation.

KNK also said the crises and issues that the Iranian state is facing internally and externally had created the right conditions for the Kurds, and the peoples of Iran, to liberate themselves from the zealot regime.

The organisation strongly condemned the brutal act practised by the Iranian state against the protester and offered its condolences to the Kurdish people and the families of the martyrs, wishing the wounded a speedy recovery.

The death of Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, after she was detained by Iran’s morality police last week has sparked protests in Iran.

Reportedly, Amini went into a coma after the morality police arrested and beat her with a baton for improperly wearing her hijab. The police said Amini had suffered a heart attack, but her family disputed this, saying she had been in good health.

Women organisations and politicians from other parts of Kurdistan have also expressed their solidarity with the people of Eastern Kurdistan.

The General Commander of Syrian Democratic Forces, Mazloum Abdi, on his social media, condemned the death of Jina Amini and said the murder of Amini by Iran’s morality police was an embarrassment.

Abdi also stated that the Kurdish question and the situation of women in Iran must be resolved through the proper methods.

Members of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Women’s Council and Free Women’s Movement (TJA) gathered in Diyarbakır to protest against the murder of Jina Amini.

They unfurled a banner on the ancient walls of Diyarbakır’s Sur district reading, “We salute the resistance of women”, and featuring an image of Mahsa Amini on the walls to support women’s protests in Iran.