Iran FM Claims Mahsa Amini Died Of Natural Causes

Iran's foreign minister, who has traveled to Turkey, once again repeated the claim by the Islamic Republic authorities that Mahsa Amini "died of natural causes".

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the comments in a joint press conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu on Tuesday.

“In Iran, women enjoy freedom and a high degree of rights. The fact that an Iranian girl died of natural causes made us sad,” he added.

These statements are made in a situation that the case of Mahsa Amini's death has not yet been officially concluded, while overwhelming evidence from hospital and x-rays showed she received fatal head injuries in Hijab police custody.

Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old girl died on September 16, three days after her arrest. Amini was arrested for allegedly not wearing the hijab in accordance with standards. The Law Enforcement Command of the of Iran stated she had a heart attack at a police station, collapsed, and fell into a coma before being transferred to a hospital. However, eyewitnesses, including women who were detained with Amini, reported that she was severely beaten and that she died as a result of police brutality which was denied by the Iranian authorities.

Amini’s death and the publication of pictures of her caused a wave of anger and protest in Iran which has been going on for months.

In another part of his statements in Turkey, Amir-Abdollahian once again accused the West of playing a role in Iran's nationwide protests.