A wave of anger crosses the country after the death of a young woman, arrested on September 13 by the morality police in Tehran and died Friday in hospital after three days in a coma.
New demonstrations took place in Iran to protest the death of a young woman in the custody of the vice squad, with police again on Monday denying any responsibility for the death.
A demonstration took place on Sunday evening in Sanandaj, capital of Kurdistan province in northwestern Iran, and other protests took place at several universities in the capital on Monday, according to the Fars and Tasnim news agencies. .
Vice squad
On September 13, Masha Amini, originally from the Kurdistan region, was arrested in Tehran for “wearing inappropriate clothingby the vice police, a unit tasked with enforcing the Islamic Republic of Iran’s strict dress code for women. In Iran, covering your hair is compulsory in public. The morality police further prohibit women from wearing short coats above the knee, tight pants and jeans with holes as well as brightly colored outfits, among other things.
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The young woman fell into a coma after her arrest and died on September 16 in hospital, according to state television and her family. Activists ruled his death “suspiciousbut Tehran police claimed last week that there was “nono physical contactbetween the police and the victim. The death of the young woman sparked a wave of anger in Iran. And Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has called for an investigation to be opened. After an initial demonstration on Saturday in Saghez, Mahsa Amini’s hometown, a protest of around 500 people took place in Sanandaj, according to Fars.
‘Regrettable incident’
“Protesters shouted slogans against those responsible, smashed car windows and set trash cans on fire“, specified the agency. The police usedtear gas to disperse the crowd“and arrested”several people“. “Many protesters are convinced that Mahsa died under torture“Fars wrote. In the Iranian capital, students have launched protest movements in several universities, including those of Tehran and Shahid Beheshti, according to Tasnim. They demanded from the authoritiesclarificationabout the Iranian woman’s death.
Tehran’s police chief, General Hossein Rahimi, again dismissed the “unfair charges against the police“. “There was no negligence on our part. We conducted investigations (…) And all the evidence shows that there was no negligence, or inappropriate behavior on the part of the police“, he said. “This is a regrettable incident and we wish never to witness such incidents again.“, he added.
“Decent clothes”
General Rahimi again stressed that the young woman had violated the dress code, and that the police had asked Mahsa’s relatives to bring her “decent clothes“. On the day of her death, state television aired a short surveillance video showing a woman portrayed as Mahsa Amini collapsing at the police station after a discussion with a female officer. On Monday, Amjad Amini, the victim’s father, told Fars that the “video was cutand claimed that her daughter had “was transferred late to the hospital“.
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Saturday that “Mahsa apparently had previous issues» and that she «had undergone brain surgery at the age of five“. Information denied by the victim’s father, who assured that his daughter was “in perfect health“. The young woman was arrested while she was in Tehran visiting with her family. In recent months, the morality police have been criticized for violent interventions.
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Many filmmakers, artists, sports, political and religious figures have expressed their anger on social networks after the death of the young woman. Former president and leader of the reformist current Mohammad Khatami called on the authorities to “bring the perpetrators to justiceof this act.
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