The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell condemned Monday, September 19 the "
unacceptable
" death of a young woman arrested by the morality police in Iran, and called on the authorities to punish those responsible.
“
Last week, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died of injuries sustained in police custody after being detained for violating Iran's headscarf laws.
This death is unacceptable and those responsible must be held accountable
,” Peter Stano, spokesman for Josep Borrell, said in a statement.
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“
It is imperative that the Iranian authorities ensure that the fundamental rights of their citizens are respected and that those who are subject to any form of detention are not subjected to any form of ill-treatment
,” he said. added.
The death of the young woman sparked a wave of anger in Iran and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called for the opening of an investigation.
Several demonstrations took place on Sunday and Monday in the country.
Masha Amini, from Sanandaj, capital of the province of Kurdistan in the northwest of the country, was arrested on September 13 in Tehran for "
wearing inappropriate clothes
" by the morality police, a unit responsible for enforcing the code Islamic Republic of Iran strict dress code for women.
She fell into a coma three days later and died in hospital, according to state television and her family.
Tehran's police chief, General Hossein Rahimi, dismissed the accusations of mistreatment and lamented "
an unfortunate incident
".