"Death to the dictator": demonstrations and clashes with the police after the death of a young woman in Iran

22-year-old Mahsa Amini was visiting her family in Tehran when she was arrested on Tuesday by the police unit responsible for enforcing the modest dress code for women, which includes the obligation to cover the head in public.

Amini allegedly violated the law.

She died a few days after the hospital arrest

news agencies

09/18/2022

Sunday, September 18, 2022, 1:09 p.m. Updated: 1:19 p.m.

• Share on Facebook

• Share on WhatsApp

• Share on Twitter

• Share by email

• Share in general

• Comments

  Comments

The protests in Iran continued yesterday (Saturday), following the death of a young woman, after her arrest by the notorious "morality police".

The country's media reported yesterday that following the death of Mahsa Amini, the country's president Ebrahim Raisi ordered an investigation to be opened.

The Morality Police claimed that she fell ill while waiting with other detainees at the station.

"Since transferring her to the car, and also at the station, there has been no physical meeting with her," said the message, which rejected the claims about Amini's beating.

Earlier, the police claimed that Amini suffered a heart attack after being taken to the station, but the young woman's relatives denied that she suffered from medical problems.

Mahesh Amini (photo: official website, Twitter)

twittertwittertwitter

Amini, 22, was visiting her family in Tehran when she was arrested on Tuesday by the police unit responsible for enforcing the modest dress code for women, which includes a requirement to cover the head in public.

Amini allegedly violated the law.

She died in hospital a few days after the arrest.

Headscarves have been mandatory for women in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

According to a report in the "Guardian", Amini's family was told that the young woman would be released from the Judiciary after a "re-education lesson".

The state media quoted the family as saying that Amini HaBrea was rushed to the hospital in a coma, just hours after the arrest.

In videos uploaded to social networks, crowds were seen gathering outside the Kasara hospital where Amini was treated before her death.

Hundreds of people came to her funeral on Saturday in the city of Saqez in Kurdistan province and shouted "death to the dictator", according to social media posts.

In other videos, Iranian security forces were seen opening fire on the protesters and firing tear gas.

According to the opposition website, Iran International, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, several people were injured in the clashes.

In the video uploaded by the site, a group of protesters is seen throwing stones at a sign of the supreme religious leader Ali Khamenei.

Channel 1500tavsir, which monitors human rights violations, reported that the young woman was hit in the head.

Amini's death drew condemnation from celebrities, athletes and other well-known figures in Iran, as well as from senior American officials.

Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden's national security adviser, condemned Amini's death.

"We are deeply concerned about the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was reportedly beaten to death under the auspices of Iran's morality police," he tweeted on Friday.

"Her death is unforgivable. We will continue to place the responsibility for such a violation of human rights on senior Iranian officials."

Iran's morality police has been criticized in recent years for its treatment of people, and especially women Iranian human rights activists have urged women to publicly remove their hijabs - a gesture that risks arresting them for not complying with the Iranian dress code.

Activists accuse Iran of a brutal campaign against all sections of society, including the Baha'i religious minority and the LGBT community, as well as a surge in executions and arrests of foreign nationals.

• news

• world news

• Asia and the Pacific

Tags

• Iran