The Netherlands has summoned Iran’s ambassador over what the violence against peaceful demonstrators, caretaker foreign minister David van Weel said on Tuesday.
“I am deeply shocked by the bloody repression of peaceful demonstrations in Iran,” Van Weel said on social media.
By summoning the ambassador, a largely symbolic act, the Netherlands is formally protesting about the violence, as well as what what Van Weel described as large-scale arbitrary arrests and internet shutdowns.
Other European countries, including Finland, Spain and Belgium, have also summoned Iranian ambassadors in response to the crackdown.
Human rights groups say more than 1,000, and possibly more than 2,000 people have been killed. An Iranian official also cited a figure of 2,000 in comments to Reuters.
The scale of the violence is difficult to verify because the authorities have shut down the internet and severely restricted phone services.
Protests have been ongoing across Iran for two weeks, with growing numbers of people taking to the streets daily to demand an end to the strict Islamic rule of ayatollah Khamenei.
In the Netherlands there have been several demonstrations in support of the Iranian protestors, including one outside the Iranian embassy in The Hague on Tuesday.
On Monday caretaker prime minister Dick Schoof said the “brave men and women in the streets of Iranian cities deserve our support”.
“They are standing up against tyranny and making their loud calls for freedom heard,” he said. “The Netherlands urges the Iranian regime to stop the violence, release those who have been unjustly arrested, and restore internet access. We will stand firm in supporting the rights of the Iranian people.”
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