Mahsa Amini

The tragic death of a 22-year-old arrested by morality police has emboldened those seeking freedom.

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The death of Mahsa Amini on Friday, who had been picked up by Iran's morality police, has triggered daring displays of defiance. | ITV National News.

Protesters were also chased and beaten with clubs by the motorcycle-riding Basij, or volunteers in Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. She collapsed at a police station and died three days later. Another woman is seen cutting off her hair in a show of protest.

Protests were sparked when a 22-year-old died after being detained by Iran's so-called morality police.

All agents and officials responsible must face justice.” Amini’s death has been condemned by other countries including France and the US. [Terms of use,](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/user-policies-a6184151.html) [Cookie policy](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/cookie-policy-a6184186.html) and [Privacy notice.](https://www.independent.co.uk/service/privacy-policy-a6184181.html) In the city of Saqez in the Kurdish region, two people died after authorities opened fire on protesters. Some men have also joined in on the protest and shaved their hair off in solidarity with Iranian women. [Privacy policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en) and [Terms of service](https://policies.google.com/terms?hl=en) apply. She was allegedly beaten and died on Friday (16 September), three days after being detained. [responded ](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/16/iranian-woman-dies-after-moral-polices-detention-reports)to the incident: “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. [five people have been killed in clashes](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/mahsa-amini-death-iran-hijab-police-suspended-b2170924.html) between demonstrators and security forces. [TikTok](/topic/tiktok) as platform to protest [the death of Mahsa Amini last week](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/iran-protests-mahsa-amini-hijab-b2171219.html), by posting videos of themselves shaving their heads, cutting their hair and burning hijabs.

Foreign Office Minister Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon has issued a statement following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran.

The death of Mahsa Amini in Iran following her arrest for alleged dress code violations is shocking. The use of violence in response to the expression of fundamental rights, by women or any other members of Iranian society, is wholly unjustifiable. Foreign Office Minister Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon has issued a statement following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran.

We'd like to hear from people in Iran how they feel about the protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in custody.

[here](https:///%20https://guardiannewsandmedia.formstack.com/forms/iran_protests_2022_mahsa_amini). You can also contact us [via Telegram](https://www.theguardian.com/info/2022/mar/15/telegram-sharing-stories-with-the-guardian) by [clicking here](https://t.me/guardiancommunityteam) or adding +44(0)7799322095. Read terms of service [here](https://www.theguardian.com/help/terms-of-service) and privacy policy [here](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We will delete any personal data when we no longer require it for this purpose. [via WhatsApp](https://www.theguardian.com/info/2015/aug/12/whatsapp-sharing-stories-with-the-guardian) by [clicking here](https://api.whatsapp.com/send?phone=447766780300) or adding +44(0)7766780300. [Mahsa Amini’s death in custody in Tehran](https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/sep/16/iranian-woman-dies-after-being-beaten-by-morality-police-over-hijab-law).

The protests were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died following a stay in police custody after she was arrested for allegedly ...

[the police have denied mistreatment](https://www.rferl.org/a/iranian-woman-brain-dead-arrets-morality-police-hijab/32035501.html), saying that Amini “suddenly suffered a heart problem” after arriving at their detention centre and was then taken to hospital. In the days following Amini’s death, women across the country have been at the forefront of protests against the regime’s restrictive laws, which require women to cover their hair with a hijab or headscarf and cover their arms and legs with loose clothing. [released a statement expressing her alarm](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/09/mahsa-amini-acting-un-human-rights-chief-urges-impartial-probe-death-iran) at Amini’s death and the police’s response to protestors. Iranian women have also uploaded videos of themselves cutting their hair and burning their hijabs on social media in a show of defiance against the government and in support of the protestors. Since then, protests have erupted online and on the streets of Iran, with women cutting their hair and burning their headscarves in protest against the regime’s strict laws and treatment of Amini. [Witnesses at the scene](https://www.rferl.org/a/iranian-woman-brain-dead-arrets-morality-police-hijab/32035501.html) in Tehran told journalists that police beat Amini with a baton following her arrest, and [reports have since emerged](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/09/mahsa-amini-acting-un-human-rights-chief-urges-impartial-probe-death-iran) that her head was also banged against the police vehicle.

On 13 September, 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, originally from the city of Saqqez in Kurdistan Province, in western Iran, was in Tehran, having travelled there to ...

[UN Human Rights Office](https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20220920-un-calls-for-probe-into-iranian-woman-s-death-in-morality-police-s-custody), which says the police have been targeting women, and claims to have verified videos of women being slapped in the face, beaten with batons and thrown into police vans for even just wearing the hijab too loosely. Protests yesterday resulted in the death of one member of the [police ](https://go.redirectingat.com/?id=127X618962&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.sky.com%2Fstory%2Fmahsa-amini-police-assistant-dead-and-four-officers-injured-during-more-violent-protests-12702406&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.harpersbazaar.com%2Fuk%2Fculture%2Fculture-news%2Fa41294323%2Fwhat-happened-to-mahsa-amini%2F)and the now widespread burning of [headscarves](https://edition.cnn.com/2022/09/21/middleeast/iran-mahsa-amini-death-widespread-protests-intl-hnk/index.html). In fact, the actions of the so-called 'morality police' have been heavily criticised by the [The White House](https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/us-demands-accountability-death-iranian-woman-after-hijab-arrest-2022-09-19/) said: "Mahsa Amini's death after injuries sustained while in police custody for wearing an 'improper' hijab is an appalling and egregious front to human rights." Amini’s father has hotly contested these allegations, saying he believes he has been given heavily-edited CCTV footage that contradicts her bruising and eye-witness accounts, telling the reformist-leaning Iranian [Rouydad24](https://iranhumanrights.org/2022/09/mahsa-aminis-father-everything-they-have-said-and-shown-is-lies/) newspaper: “They said Mahsa had heart disease and epilepsy but as the father who raised her for 22 years, I say loudly that Mahsa did not have any illness. [already-contested](https://www.arabnews.com/node/2163391/world) presence of Ebrahim Raisi at the UN this week. [existing conditions](https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/19/irans-police-denies-women-who-died-in-custody-was-beaten). Despite the efforts of the medical team, they failed to revive her and the patient died." "Resuscitation was performed on the patient, the heartbeat returned and the patient was admitted to the intensive care unit," they originally wrote, reports CCTV videos of the event, released later by the Tehran police, show her collapsing to the ground at the moment of her arrest. She was at the entry of Haqqani Highway with her brother Kiaresh Amini when she was arrested by the regime’s so-called 'Guidance Patrol' and transferred to the 'Moral Security' agency, allegedly for wearing an inappropriate hijab. Across Tehran and cities in the Kurdistan province, people have taken to the streets, in violent scuffles which have resulted in an estimated 221 wounded people, 250 arrests and

Internet blackouts and Instagram blocks also reported amid anger after 22-year-old woman's death in custody.

During her detention, she said, she “had suffered physical and psychological torture that remains with me to this day … In a CBS interview, Raisi claimed further investigations were required to determine if the Holocaust happened. I still believe that diplomacy is the best way to achieve this goal.” On Wednesday, the country’s supreme leader gave a televised speech in which he did not mention the protests but warned how young people should not “fall for western powers’ deception”. And a Kurdish human rights group, Hengaw, said two more people had been killed by police, raising the claimed death toll since Amini’s death to six. No meeting is planned between Raisi and the US president, Joe Biden.

WOMEN'S protests continued to sweep Iran today over the death in custody last Friday of Mahsa Amini, arrested for breaching sexist dress laws.

Money from shares contributes directly to keep our paper thriving. In Sari, north of Tehran, large crowds cheered as women set their hijabs alight in defiant acts of protest. This is the last article you can read this month

Amini, 22, died Friday, several days after she was arrested in Tehran by the country's "morality police" for violating hijab laws. Her death has sparked ...

[In a tweet](https://twitter.com/USEnvoyIran/status/1570826454182797312?s=20&t=Nf3dGsvAl_GqLn4xfQoe0g) in response to Amini's death, Robert Malley, the U.S. [honor killings](https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/middleeast/iran-honor-killing-romina-ashrafi-intl/index.html), continues in Iran, and the country's [laws do little to protect them](https://www.wilsoncenter.org/blog-post/gender-based-violence-iran), experts say. [ongoing protests](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23%D8%A7%D8%B9%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B6%D8%A7%D8%AA_%D8%B3%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%B1%DB%8C&src=trend_click&vertical=trends) over Amini's death and another that essentially states, ["No to the Islamic Republic." But backers of the establishment have been blasting out their own hashtag: "My Iran." [reported](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-62967381). said, adding that the morality police have recently stepped up street patrols. Police reject the allegations, saying Amini died after being taken to a hospital because she had a heart attack. [IRNA news agency](https://en.irna.ir/news/84889658/Iranian-police-releases-footage-of-young-woman-died-after-arrest). [said in a statement](https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/09/mahsa-amini-acting-un-human-rights-chief-urges-impartial-probe-death-iran). [he said](https://web.archive.org/web/20220919025955/https:/www.president.ir/en/139571). [reported](https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209165767). [Iran International](https://www.iranintl.com/en/202209172983).

Iranian security forces are violently quashing largely peaceful protests sparked by Mahsa Amini's death on 16 September, days after her violent arrest by ...

“Iran’s security forces will continue to feel emboldened to kill or injure protesters and prisoners, including women arrested for defying abusive compulsory veiling laws, if they are not held accountable. A journalist from Baneh similarly told Amnesty International: “Security forces directly shot people in their stomachs and backs at close range… An eyewitness reported seeing scores of arrested protesters in Kamyaran with fractured heads, noses or arms and bloodied bodies. Consistent eyewitness accounts and video footage leave no doubt that those firing weapons during the protests belonged to Iran’s security forces. Their urgent need for action was demonstrated most recently by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, and the barrage of gunfire unleashed on protesters which has left at least eight people dead and hundreds injured, Amnesty International said today. On 19 September, mass protests spread from Saqqez to other cities populated by Iran’s oppressed Kurdish minority including Baneh, Dehgolan, Divandareh, Kamyaran, Mahabad, and Sanandaj. The source said security forces also fired birdshot at another young man, 22-year-old Parsa Sehat, who consequently lost sight in both eyes. Most of them were injured in their backs as they were running away.” Of these, at least four died from injuries sustained from security forces firing metal pellets at close range. Four other victims, Reza Lotfi and Foad Ghadimi in Dehgolan, Kurdistan province; Mohsen Mohammadi in Divandareh, Kurdistan province; and 16-year-old boy Zakaria Khial in Urumieh were killed. At least two other people have lost sight in one or both eyes. He has been given a platform on the world stage, despite credible evidence of his

Nine people are said to have been killed in unrest triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini.

The internet service has already been disrupted in Kurdistan province, Tehran and other parts of the country for several days. But her family has said she was fit and healthy. She collapsed after being taken to a detention centre to be "educated". This video is from the southern island of Qeshm. The most popular social media platform there. She was visiting the capital Tehran with her family when she was arrested by morality police, who accused her of violating the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab and their arms and legs with loose clothing.