Report: The commander of the Iranian morality police unit has been suspended from his post

It was reported in the Iranian media that Colonel Ahmad Mirzai, the commander of the Moral Safety Unit of Greater Tehran, was suspended following the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old who was arrested for inappropriately wearing a headscarf.

Tehran police denied the report

news agencies

09/20/2022

Tuesday, September 20, 2022, 11:59 am Updated: 12:10 pm

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On video: Riots in Iran following the death of the young woman, 22-year-old Mehsa Amini, who "was negligent in wearing a hijab" (Meerkat Walla!)

The commander of the Iranian morality police unit has been suspended from his post, according to reports, only because of stormy demonstrations across the country for the third day following the death of a 22-year-old young woman.

Several news channels in Iran reported yesterday (Tuesday) that Colonel Ahmad Mirzai, commander of the Moral Safety Unit of Greater Tehran, Suspended following the death of Masha Amini at the weekend.

Tehran police denied that he had been suspended or fired.

Student protests following the death of Mahsha Amini (Photo: Reuters)

Mahesh Amini (photo: official website, Twitter)

The Iranian police earlier gave a version according to which it was an "unfortunate incident", but denied the accusations that led to the protests.

A video posted on Twitter showed the protesters in the city of Divendra throwing stones at the security forces.

According to reports, a trade strike was declared in the Kurdish cities.

The hashtag #MahsaAmini on Twitter garnered 1.8 million mentions.

Amini, who according to the New York Times was also called "Gina", lived in a Kurdish region of Iran and was visiting her family in Tehran when she was arrested last Tuesday by the police unit responsible for enforcing the modest dress code among women, which includes the obligation to cover the head in public.

Amini died in hospital a few days after the arrest.

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

22-year-old Mahsha Amini (photo: Walla! system, according to Section 27 A on social networks)

In the police statement, Tehran Police Chief Hossein Rahimi said that the claims according to which the police are to blame for the young woman's death are "cowardly accusations".

According to him, the police did everything in their power to keep Amini alive, and she was not physically harmed at all.

"This is an unfortunate incident for us, and we hope that we will never witness such cases," said Rahimi.

He showed a video in which Amini appears, as it were, entering a room and sitting next to other people.

He then showed a segment later in the video, where Amini is talking to a man checking her clothes.

In the video, the young woman raises her hands to her head and then collapses.

The "Al Arabiya" network reported yesterday that a London news site obtained a CT scan of Amini's skull.

According to the site, the scan showed cracks in the skull and bleeding in the brain.

This is in contrast to the police version according to which no force was applied to her during the arrest.

Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi spoke with Amini's family on Sunday and told her that "your daughter is like my daughter, and I feel that this has happened to one of my family members. Please accept my condolences," state media reported.

Raisi is making his way to New York today to attend the UN General Assembly. He surely wants the protests to die down by the time of his speech. However, clashes continued last night as well. According to reports, two people died in the Kurdish city of Saqqez - Amini's hometown.

Organization Kurdish Human Rights reported that at least two people were killed in clashes with the police in the city of Devendra in the Kurdish region of Iran. The organization also claimed that 15 people were injured in the riots, including a ten-year-old girl who was shot in the head by the police. These reports have not received official confirmation.

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Residents read in the newspaper about Amini's death (Photo: Reuters)

Iran's former foreign minister, Javad Zarif, said in response to the death that he was ashamed of what happened to Amini.

Videos have been posted on social media showing police motorcycles on fire and a large crowd demanding an easing of hijab laws.

The United States called for responsibility in the case.

"The death of Mahsha Amini after the injuries she sustained during police arrest for wearing a hijab "improperly" is appalling and an affront to human rights," said a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House.

A spokesman for the European Union said that "it is imperative that the Iranian authorities ensure that the basic rights of the citizens are respected and that those who are in detention will not suffer improper treatment."

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