Death of woman detained for dress code breach sparks outrage in Iran
Tehran, Sep 18 (EFE).- The death of a young woman after she was detained for allegedly violating Iran’s strict dress rules has sparked outrage across the country.
Mahsa Amini, 22, died on Friday after she suffered a heart attack and fell into a coma at a police station.
Two days after her death, protests and signs of discontent have continued.
“Women, life and freedom,” a group of protesters at Tehran University chanted, according to the Iranian Rouydad 24 news website.
Videos that are shared by Iranian journalists on social media showed tens of people shouting slogans in a march at the university.
Other videos, whose authenticity has not been verified, showed more marches across the capital.
The protests come after rallies at Amini’s funeral in her hometown of Saqqez on Saturday, as well in Tehran and other parts of the country.
Iranian authorities confirmed that clashes erupted between protesters and security forces during Saturday demonstrations, resulting in several injuries and detentions.
“At Mahsa Amini’s funeral, no one died and there were only a few minor injuries,” Saqqez lawmaker Behzad Rahimi told Iranian media Sunday.
At the funeral protests, many women took off their headscarves in an act of defiance.
Iranian women have been required to wear a hijab since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which was led by former supreme leader Ruhollah Khomeini.
Major Iranian newspapers showed the division between hardliners and reformists.
“The humiliating death of Amini” was the reformist Etemad newspaper’s headline
The Iranian daily said the “widespread discontent with the morality patrols is not new” and recalled other similar cases from the past.
Reformist daily Iran Ermooz called for an investigation into the actions of the morality police and said officers were not trained.
Daily Aftab decided to go for “Clash in Iran” as its headline.
Iranian police denied any involvement in the woman’s death and stated she “suddenly suffered heart failure.”
The police authorities published a video in which Amini is allegedly seen falling while talking to an officer at the police station, but her family has not confirmed that it was her.
The outpouring of outrage has led Iran’s president Ebrahim Raisi to order an investigation into the incident.EFE
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