U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Canadian counterpart expressed support Thursday for the demonstrators in Iran who have taken to the streets to protest the death of a young woman who died while in police custody after being arrested for wearing her headscarf "improperly."
Blinken said Thursday in Ottawa that he and Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly have exchanged views on the matter.
"We're working together to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its vicious crackdown on brave young women who continue to come out into the streets to demand their rights, more than 40 days now after the killing of Mahsa Amini," Blinken said.
Joly said, in the joint news conference, "Canada salutes all Iranians who are fighting against tyranny, and we stand with the women and girls who are bravely defying the regime. The message is simple: women rights are human rights. We have a moral obligation to support the brave women of Iran and hold those persecuting them accountable."
Blinken also said that he fully supports the statement that Joly and 11 other female foreign ministers issued earlier in the week about Iran's repressive regime.
That statement said in part, "We, as women foreign ministers, are gathered in solidarity with the courageous Iranian women engaging in their right of peaceful assembly and advocating for their human rights. We recognize that Iranian women are also fighting for a better future for all Iranians and we have the moral obligation to support them. We strongly support the vital work of human rights defenders, in particular women human rights defenders, who ensure people around the world are free to exercise and enjoy their human rights and fundamental freedoms."
