On Sunday, September 18 and Monday, September 19, new demonstrations were held in Iran, particularly in Tehran and Mashhad, to condemn the death of 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amin, three days after she was arrested by Tehran’s morality police.
On September 13, Mahsa Amin was arrested in Tehran “Wearing Inappropriate Clothes” by the unit responsible for enforcing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s strict dress code for women. According to the state television and her family, the young woman fell into a coma after her arrest and died in the hospital on September 16. Activists condemned his death “suspicious”, But the Tehran police said it was not “I had no physical contact” between the police and the victim.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi demanded an investigation. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, condemned the death on Monday “unacceptable”. “Those responsible must be held accountable”Peter Stano, a spokesman for Mr. Borrell, said in a statement. “It is imperative that the Iranian authorities ensure that the fundamental rights of their citizens are protected. he added.
France condemns
France described in the press release of the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs “deeply shocking” The arrest and subsequent death of Mahsa Amin “In the hands of Iran’s moral police”. Paris also calls on A “Transparent investigation (…) to shed light on the circumstances of this tragedy”and confirms once again “Her continued and resolute commitment, everywhere in the world, to combat and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls.”.
The death of the young woman caused a wave of outrage in Iran. A protest was held Sunday evening in Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province in the country’s northwest, where Mahsa Amin is from, and other protests were held Monday at several universities in the capital, Tehran. local media. Monday evening, on Hejab Street (“muslim veil” in Persian) in the center of Tehran, “Several hundred people chanted slogans against the government, some of them removed their hijabs”“- states Fars agency.
BBC journalist Shayan Sardarizadeh It was especially spread on Twitter Some videos of activists or journalists on the ground:
Tonight appears to be the biggest night of protests in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amin, with dozens of videos… https://t.co/FMTpp8W1Zd
“Suspicious” death
A short video released by the agency shows a crowd of several dozen people, including women who have removed their veils, screaming. “Death to the Islamic Republic”. The police arrested several people and dispersed the crowd with batons and tear gas.– added Fars agency. A similar gathering was held in Mashhad, the country’s first holy city, located in the northeast, Tasnim news agency reported.
After an initial demonstration on Saturday in Saghez, Mahsa Amin’s hometown, a protest of about 500 people took place in Sanandaj, Fars reported. “Demonstrators shouted slogans hostile to those responsible, smashed car windows and set garbage cans on fire.”– they say in the agency. The police used it “Tear gas to disperse people” and arrested “a few people”. “Many protesters are convinced that Mahsa died as a result of torture”He also wrote Fars.
According to the Tasnim agency, students in the Iranian capital have launched protest movements at several universities, including Tehran and Shahid Behesti universities. They demanded the government “definition” On the death of an Iranian woman. Tehran’s police chief, General Hossein Rahim, again denied this “Unfair accusations against the police”. “There was no carelessness on our part. We conducted surveys (…) And all the evidence shows that there was no negligence or misconduct on the part of the police.”she said.
“This is a sad incident and we wish to never witness similar incidents again.”, he added. The general emphasized again that the young woman had violated the dress code and that the police had asked Mahsa Amin’s relatives to bring her. “proper clothes”.
Controversial Morality Police
On the day of her death, state television broadcast a brief surveillance video showing a woman identified as Mahsa Amin collapsing inside a police building after an argument with a female officer. On Monday, Amjad Amin, the victim’s father, told Fars that “It has a video[vait] cut off” and claimed that his daughter had it “He was taken to the hospital late”.
Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi announced this on Saturday “Mahsa clearly had previous problems” And that he “He underwent brain surgery at the age of 5”. The father denied the information and assured that it was his daughter “in perfect health”. The head of Tehran’s medical examiner’s office told state television on Saturday that an investigation into the cause of the young woman’s death was underway, but that it would take three weeks.
After the death of the young woman, a number of filmmakers, artists, sportsmen, politicians and religious figures expressed their anger on social networks. Iranian film director Asghar Farhad responded on his Instagram and called Amin’s death in custody. “crime”. Mahsa Amin’s death comes as controversy rages over the conduct of vice police patrolling public places to enforce the headscarf law and other Islamic rules.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, all women have been required by law to wear head and neck veils while covering their hair. However, over the past two decades, more and more women in Tehran and other major cities have been letting their hair down, or more commonly, removing their veils.