Mahsa Amini, 22, was visited to the Iranian capital with her family. There she was detained by the morality police unit. And following that she died.
In Tehran, a young Iranian woman died on Friday after being detained by the morality police. This police unit’s main job is to enforce the Islamic republic’s strict dress code for women. It includes the compulsory wearing of the headscarf in public.
Mahsa Amini, 22, travelled to Tehran, Iran’s capital, with her family. There she was detained on September 13th by the morality police, known as Gasht-e Ershad, or Islamic guidance patrol. She died at a hospital after three days in a coma.
It is unclear what happened to her after she was detained. It was reported by a few Persian-language media that her family had spoken about the matter to the media. She was allegedly beaten inside the police van as she was led to Vozara detention center, according to an eyewitness.
According to members of her family, her mother, and her brother, they say that Mahsa was detained on September 13th when she was leaving a subway station in Tehran. Her brother was with her at that time. After being detained, she was rushed into a van and transported to a police station.
“Unfortunately, she died, and her body was transferred to the medical examiner’s office,” Iranian state television reported. According to the officials of the police station, she suddenly collapsed. The police said they believe she had pre-existing conditions. That was the cause of the heart attack.
Her family has a different version of events. They said that she had no pre-existing medical issues. After a few hours of her arrest, she was taken to a hospital in a coma and there she was pronounced dead.
Her family laid her body to rest in her hometown on Saturday morning. Her family is demanding answers from officials. Furthermore, the whole of Iran is demanding an investigation into what actually happened.
The Iranian woman must get justice
The Interior Ministry has launched an investigation into determining the reason for the death. Former President Khatami, as well as former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, expressed their sorrow and deep condolences to the family for the events.
The issue is that the officials need to be responsible for the well-being of the people they have in custody. “The circumstances leading to the suspicious death in custody of 22-year-old young woman Mahsa Amini, which include allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in custody, must be criminally investigated,” Amnesty International said.
It also added, “The so-called morality police in Tehran arbitrarily arrested her three days before her death while enforcing the country’s abusive, degrading, and discriminatory forced veiling laws. All agents and officials responsible must face justice. “
Renowned Iranian lawyer Saeed Dehghan said that Amini was murdered, she had suffered a blow to the head. However, the police denied that she had been tortured. Amini was from Kurdistan. There were also protests.
Three million tweets are marked on Twitter mentioning her name. Some women have made videos of themselves cutting their hair and taking off their hijab to protest her death in custody. In particular, there were huge demonstrations in Tehran, Kurdistan province.
“Death to the dictator” was chanted as the protesters marched towards the local governor’s office. This is mainly directed against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran.
The reason for Mahsa Amini’s death has not yet been clearly explained. The medical examiner’s office said that they are conducting tests on samples taken from Amini’s body following her death. After the completion of the investigation, they will declare the result.
In a nation where the online environment is strictly restricted, one protest film that made it to the Internet depicts schoolgirls yelling “go lost, Basiji” at members of the paramilitary force Basiji.
With French actors Marion Cotillard and Juliette Binoche, among others, cutting their hair in support of Iranian women, the flames are now spreading outside of Iran.
When the more liberal Hassan Rouhani was in office, the hijab law was more laxly enforced; however, after the hardliner President Ebrahim Raisi assumed office in 2021, enforcement has been stringent.
