Status: 09/18/2022 01:37 am
A young woman has died after being arrested by Iran’s moral police. There is conflicting information about the exact circumstances. The case triggered protests – among exiled Iranians but also in Iran itself.
The death of a young woman after being arrested by the vice squad has sparked grief and dismay as well as protests against those in power in Iran. According to the media, thousands attended the funeral of the 22-year-old in her hometown of Saghes in the north-west of the country.
According to a report by the semi-official Iranian news agency Fars, a protest march formed after the funeral, which the police used tear gas against. Referring to videos on social networks, the Reuters agency reports that there are slogans like “Death to the dictator!” been called – in reference to the supreme Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Arrested for wearing “un-Islamic” clothing
The protests were triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in a hospital in Tehran. During a family visit in the capital, the young woman was arrested by the moral and religious police because of her “un-Islamic” clothing and taken to a police station. According to the police, she first fainted and then fell into a coma due to heart failure. Her death was confirmed on Friday.
However, a completely different version is circulating on the Internet. The woman was arrested because her headscarf did not fit properly and a few strands of hair were visible. According to this version, after the arrest, she was hit on the head, which led to a brain hemorrhage, a coma and ultimately – already on Tuesday – to her brain death.
The police have vehemently rejected this account and are trying to prove their version with unverifiable video recordings. The authorities have launched investigations. A medic said forensic results could take up to three weeks.
The pictures on this page show protests by Iranian exiles in Berlin. There were also demonstrations in Iran itself after the young woman’s death.
Image: dpa
Strict dress codes for women
There were also protests in Germany. In Berlin, for example, a few dozen people demonstrated in front of the Iranian embassy.
Iran has had strict dress codes for women since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. For just as long, however, women, especially in the metropolises, ignored them – much to the annoyance of ultra-conservative politicians. The government in Tehran and the hardliners in parliament have been trying for months to enforce Islamic laws more strictly. The vice police sometimes use force to enforce the dress codes, which has led to protests and defiant reactions from women in recent weeks.