(Tehran) New demonstrations have taken place in Iran, notably in Tehran and Mashhad, against the death of a young woman detained by the morality police, the police again on Monday denying any responsibility for the death.
Posted at 4:01 p.m.
A demonstration took place on Sunday evening in Sanandaj, capital of the province of Kurdistan in the north-west of the country, where the young woman is from and other protests took place on Monday in several universities in the capital, according to the local media.
Monday evening, in the Hejab street (“Muslim veil” in Persian) in the center of Tehran, “several hundred people chanted slogans against the authorities, some of them took off their hijab”, announced the Fars agency. .
A short video released by the agency shows a crowd of several dozen people, including women who have removed their veils, shouting “death to the Islamic Republic”.
“The police arrested several people and dispersed the crowd using truncheons and tear gas,” Fars said.
A similar gathering took place in Mashhad, the first holy city of the country located in the northeast, the Tasnim agency reported.
On September 13, Masha Amini was arrested in Tehran for “wearing inappropriate clothing” by 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. This police further prohibits women from wearing short coats above the knee, tight pants and jeans with holes, as well as brightly colored outfits, among others.
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 called his death “suspicious”, but Tehran police said there was “no physical contact” between officers 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”
“The demonstrators shouted slogans hostile to those responsible, smashed car windows and set fire to garbage cans,” the agency said. The police used “tear 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 authorities “clarifications” on the death of the Iranian.
Tehran’s police chief, General Hossein Rahimi, again rejected the “unfair accusations against the police”.
“There was no negligence on our part. We conducted surveys […] 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 to never 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 cut” and claimed his daughter had “been transferred to hospital late”.
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Saturday that “Mahsa apparently had previous problems” and that she “underwent brain surgery when she was five years old”.
Information denied by the 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.
Many filmmakers, artists, sports, political and religious figures have expressed their anger on social networks after the death of the young woman.
Abroad, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell on Monday condemned the “unacceptable” death of this young woman and called on the authorities to punish those responsible.