Condemnations Follow Death Of Young Woman In Iranian Police Custody

A gathering of people outside Tehran's Kasra hospital, where Mahsa Amini died on September 16
A gathering of people outside Tehran's Kasra hospital, where Mahsa Amini died on September 16

Condemnations by human right groups and activists, including Amnesty International, are pouring in following the death of a 22-year-old young woman after the was detained by Iran's hijab police.

“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 on Friday. 

Noting that all agents and officials responsible must face justice, it added that 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. 

Mahsa Amini was arrested Tuesday by a hijab patrol and during her detention she sustained severe trauma to her head and went into a coma in a hospital. She passed away on Friday.

While the interior ministry and Tehran's prosecutor launched probes into the circumstances surrounding her death following a demand by President Ebrahim Raisi, people in Tehran gathered outside Tehran's Kasra hospital, where she died. A video sent to Iran International shows security forces attacking a group of protesters chanting slogans there.

According to social media videos, there have been some other protests in other locations in Tehran, in which people are chanting slogans against the Islamic Republic’s authorities, such as “Death to Khamenei,” “Death to Oppressors,” and "We Will Kill Those Who Killed Our Sister".

Several Iranian celebrities including outspoken former national team soccer players Ali Karimi and Ali Daei, and Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi have posted about the young woman's tragic fate on social media.