Protests break out in Iran after 22 year old woman dies after detention
Angry protestors took to the streets in several cities of Iran after a young Kurdish woman died in detention in the capital city of Tehran during a ‘re-education’ by the morality police, who enforces strict dress rules for women.
22 year old Mahsa Amini died in hospital on Friday because of a heart attack and brain seizure she suffered while she was in custody, police said, three days after she was arrested over dress rules, alongside other women.
But her family insist she was beaten by the police.
Amini was visiting Tehran with her family when she was arrested for violating the country’s hijab law and was taken to a police station for a “re-education session.”
Protests first erupted outside Tehran’s Kasra Hospital where Amini died, where nurses and medical staff laid flowers on the body of the young woman in a clear stance against police oppression, as police pepper-sprayed demonstrators and made several arrests.
A viral video of the moment the nurses and medical staff of Tehran’s Kasra Hospital say goodbye to #Mahsa_Amini, the 22-year-old girl who lost her life after being arrested and allegedly beaten by Iran’s “morality” police. pic.twitter.com/Xj6yjftLvG
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) September 17, 2022
The young woman’s body was then transported to her native province of Kurdistan for the funeral on Saturday morning. Defying security officials who want to prevent any ceremony in Amini’s home town of Saqqez, hundreds of people gathered in the city center to protest the crackdown on Iranian women chanting anti-government slogans such as “death to the dictator”.
The video of a protestor who tore down a banner of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the city was seen in a video post circulating on social media.
Protesters in Saqqez torn down a banner of Islamic Republic leader Ali Khameni. Death of #Mahsa_Amini sparked outrage in Iran. Amini was arrested and beaten to coma in Tehran on Tuesday. She died on Friday and was buried in her hometown Saqqez on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/iGxq5UOK61
— Soran Khateri (@sorankhateri) September 17, 2022