The death last week of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by morality police for “improper clothing” after allegedly wearing a hijab inappropriately, has sparked a flood of outrage over a range of issues including rights, security and an economy battered by international sanctions. Amini fell into a coma and died while waiting with other women detained by the morality police, who enforce strict rules in the Islamic Republic that require women to cover their hair and wear loose clothing in public. Her father said she had no health problems and bruised her legs while in custody and holds the police responsible for her death. Protests broke out in Kurdistan, where Amini is from, and spread on Monday and Tuesday to several other provinces in northwestern Iran. Late Tuesday, state media reported “limited rallies” in several cities where they said protesters shouted anti-government slogans, threw stones at police vehicles and damaged public property. Protesters throw stones at riot police on motorcycles amid clashes over Amini’s death in Tehran on Tuesday. This photo was taken by a person not employed by the Associated Press and obtained by the AP outside Iran. (The Associated Press) Human rights group Hengaw said three people were killed in Kurdistan on Monday when security forces opened fire. The governor of Kurdistan province said the deaths were suspicious and blamed unspecified terrorist groups.
The UN is calling for an independent investigation
A top United Nations official on Tuesday called for an independent investigation into Amini’s death. “The tragic death of Mahsa Amini and the allegations of torture and ill-treatment must be promptly, impartially and effectively investigated by an independent, competent authority,” said Nada al-Nashif, the acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. The UN human rights office said Iran’s morality police have expanded their patrols in recent months, targeting women for improperly wearing the Islamic headscarf, known as the hijab. He said verified videos show women being slapped in the face, beaten with batons and thrown into police vans for wearing the hijab too loosely. 🇮🇷👉 pic.twitter.com/Q5pPkKCoXY< /a> —@UNHumanRights Iranian police denied abusing Amini and said she died of a heart attack. Authorities say they are investigating the incident. “This incident was unfortunate for us and we wish to never witness such incidents,” Hossein Rahimi, Tehran’s police chief, said on Monday. Police released CCTV footage last week that allegedly shows the moment Amini collapsed, but her family says she had no history of heart problems. In an apparent attempt to defuse tensions, an aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei offered his condolences to Amini’s family, saying Khamenei was affected and pained by her death.
Countries condemn to death, morality police
Protests over Amini’s death spread to other countries, including Canada, with a rally held in Toronto on Tuesday. Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said the Canadian government is closely monitoring the protests. Speaking to reporters in New York on Tuesday, where she is attending the United Nations General Assembly, Jolie called for “a full and complete investigation into the actions of the regime” in relation to Amini’s death. Other Western governments have demanded accountability for Amini’s death as Washington and some European countries hope to negotiate a new deal with Iran over its nuclear program after then-President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the previous deal. . “Mahsa Amini should be alive today,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. “We call on the Iranian government to end the systemic persecution of women and allow peaceful protest.” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian dismissed the criticism, accusing the US of “shedding crocodile tears”. “For Iran, human rights have an intrinsic value – contrary to what they see [as] a tool against opponents,” he tweeted. A protester holds a portrait of Amini during a demonstration in Istanbul on Tuesday. Amini’s death has sparked protests in cities around the world. (Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images) France condemned Amini’s arrest “and the violence that caused her death,” the foreign ministry said, calling for a transparent investigation. Amjad Amini, her father, told an Iranian news website that witnesses saw her being pushed into a police car. “I requested access to [videos] from the cameras inside the car as well as from the yard of the police station, but they did not respond,” he said. She also accused police of not taking her to hospital in time enough, saying she could have been suspended.
The Kurds of Iran were outraged
Amini’s death could cause tension between the establishment and the Kurdish minority. Protests broke out in Amini’s hometown of Saqez in western Iran on Saturday after her funeral. Police used tear gas to disperse protesters on Saturday and Sunday. News media reported that dozens of protesters were arrested in several cities. State television showed footage of protests on Monday, including images of two police patrol cars with their windows smashed. It said protesters also burned two motorcycles and burned Iranian flags in Kurdish areas and in Tehran. In a photo taken Monday by a person not employed by The Associated Press and taken outside Iran, a police motorcycle burns during an apparent protest in central Tehran over the death of Mahsa Amini. (The Associated Press) The minority Kurds, mainly Sunni Muslims in Shiite-dominated Iran, live mainly in a mountainous region that straddles the borders of Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Over the years, Kurdish claims have oscillated between full separatism and autonomy within a multi-ethnic Iranian state.
