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Women in Iran with Hijab
Photo: Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images
A young Iranian woman has died after being arrested by the vice squad.
Her uncle announced this on Friday.
Details of Mahsa Amini's death were not initially known.
Amini had been taken into custody by the police, who were enforcing Iran's strict hijab regulations.
Shortly thereafter she fell into a coma.
The Interior Ministry and the Tehran Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into the case after a call from President Ebrahim Raisi, state media reported.
Her uncle was quoted by news website Emtedad as saying the 22-year-old died after being taken to hospital after being arrested at a vice squad station.
State television confirmed her death in an ongoing news program without giving details.
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In recent months, Iranian activists have urged women to remove their veils in public to protest the Islamic dress code.
The hardliners among the country's rulers want to take even tougher action against "immoral behavior."
Police said Amini suffered a heart attack after she was taken to the police station to be "persuaded and lectured," state television reported, and denied claims that she had been beaten.
Police crack down on women
Following calls for anti-hijab protests, videos were posted on social media showing instances where the vice squad appeared to crack down on women who had removed their hijab.
On Friday, reformist Mahmoud Sadeghi, a former lawmaker, called on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to comment on Amini's case.
"What does the Supreme Leader, who rightly condemned the US police over the death of George Floyd, say about the Iranian police's treatment of Mahsa Amini?" Sadeghi wrote on Twitter.
In 2020, Khamenei said the killing of George Floyd in police custody revealed the "true nature" of US leaders.
Under Iranian law, introduced after the 1979 revolution, women are required to cover their hair in public and wear long, loose-fitting clothing to disguise their figure.
Anyone who violates this must expect public reprimands, fines or arrest.
Decades after the revolution, clerical rulers are still struggling to enforce the law.
Many women take a casual approach to the dress code, wearing fitted coats and colorful scarves pushed back to reveal a lot of hair.
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