As of: 09/20/2022 7:49 p.m
At least three people have died in unrest in Iran over the death of a woman in the custody of the vice squad. The UN and human rights organizations have expressed concern. There was also criticism from Iranian politicians.
After protests in Iran, the authorities reported deaths for the first time. The Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that three people had been killed in Kurdistan province. Two people were killed by a military weapon, the death of a third person was described as “suspicious”. The weapon type is not used by security forces. According to the Fars news agency, the governor of the province of Kurdistan, Ismail Sarei Kooscha, spoke of three “suspicious” deaths in a “conspiracy instigated by the enemy”.
The protests were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. Thousands of people took to the streets in Iran on Monday. There were also clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
Died in police custody
The young woman was arrested by the vice squad last Tuesday because of her “un-Islamic” clothing. What exactly happened after that is unclear, but Amini fell into a coma and died in a hospital on Friday. Critics accuse the vice squad of using violence.
Police deny mistreating Amini. Authorities have said they are investigating. The US urged Iran to end its “systematic persecution” of women. Italy also condemned the young woman’s death. Iran dismissed the criticism as politically motivated.
Human rights activists call for clarification
Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif expressed her concern at Amini’s death and the “violent response of the security forces against the demonstrations that ensued”. She called for a “speedy, independent and efficient investigation” into her death and “the allegations of torture and ill-treatment” against the police.
The expert Tara Sepehri Far from the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) explained that the violent action taken by the Iranian police against the protests shows once again that human rights are being “systematically” violated in Iran, but that the government is allowing this to go unpunished.
Criticism also from Iranian politicians
There was also criticism of the moral police in Iran: Parliament President Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called for the behavior of the police unit to be investigated in order to prevent a repeat of such an incident. The methods of the moral police also need to be reviewed, he told the state news agency IRNA. MP Moeenoddin Saeedi even called for the vice police to be abolished. She was obviously unable to “make the culture of the hijab understandable”.
Faced with the unusually strong criticism, Iran’s spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sent an envoy to Amini’s family, the Tasnim news agency reported. He informed the family that Khamenei was “sad” about Amini’s death and “measures will be taken”.