Iran protests continue over death of woman arrested by morality police

Serious protests continued in Iran yesterday following the death of a young woman in police custody last week. The unrest followed the death of Mahsa Amini (22), who fell into a coma after she was arrested by morality police for improperly wearing a headscarf.

Demonstrations and confrontations with security forces have taken place in Tehran, Mashad, Isfahan and Rasht and cities in the victim’s home province of Kurdistan. Five people are said to have died in the Kurdish region. Dozens were injured and scores arrested.

News of Ms Amini’s death spread by social media and has gained more than 1.63 million mentions on Twitter. European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Amnesty International, and Iranian human rights organisations have called for accountability.

Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi extended condolences to the family of Ms Amini and called for an investigation into her death. The capital’s morality police chief colonel Ahmad Mirzaei has reportedly been suspended until the investigation is complete but this has been denied. The officers who detained Ms Amini were not wearing body cameras and footage recorded by police station cameras appears have been edited before release.

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Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi claimed Ms Amini had “a history of medical problems” and died of a heart attack. Her father said his daughter had no ailments and accused the police of a cover-up. A London-based independent media outlet said a CT scan showed bone fractures and brain oedema, indicating she may have been struck on the head.

Ms Amini was visiting Tehran with her brother last week when she was detained and taken to a police station where she was told she would be released after a “re-education” session. She collapsed and was admitted to Kasra Hospital in a coma. Photographs taken in the hospital of her face reportedly showed discoloration.

“Resuscitation was performed on the patient, the heartbeat returned, and the patient was admitted to the intensive care unit. Unfortunately, after 48 hours on Friday, the patient suffered a cardiac arrest again, due to brain death. Despite the efforts of the medical team, they failed to revive her and the patient died,” the hospital said in its Instagram account which was soon deleted. Results of an autopsy are not expected for another two weeks.

Since ultra-conservative Mr Raisi became president in last year, the morality police have clamped down on dress code violations by women, particularly failing to cover their heads — the crime of “bad hijabi” — and wearing short, tight or torn trousers and brightly coloured clothes.

The controversy coincides with Mr Raisi’s appearance at the opening session of the UN General Assembly in New York. He had hoped to promote the revival on Tehran’s terms of the defunct 2015 agreement for lifting sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran limiting its nuclear programme.

Domestically, Mr Raisi has been criticised for failing to deliver water and electricity, which had, according to the World Bank, led to “a contraction of the agriculture and industry sectors”. These sectors have been affected by sanctions, Covid-19, fluctuating oil prices and low rainfall caused by climate change.