In a photo taken by a non-AP individual and obtained by the AP outside Iran, a police motorcycle is on fire during a protest over the death of a young woman who has been detained. for violating the country’s conservative dress code, downtown. Tehran, Iran.
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In a photo taken by a non-AP individual and obtained by the AP outside Iran, a police motorcycle is on fire during a protest over the death of a young woman who has been detained. for violating the country’s conservative dress code, downtown. Tehran, Iran.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Iranians took to the streets of the capital on Monday to protest the death of a young woman who was detained for violating the country’s conservative dress code.
The semi-official Fars news agency reported that students at various universities in Tehran had gathered to protest, demanding an investigation into Mahsa Amini’s death and the removal of the ethics police who detained her when she was arrested. she died.
Witnesses said protesters poured into Keshavarz Avenue, a central street, chanting “Death to the dictator.” They also shouted against the police and damaged a police car. Witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns.
Late on Monday, Associated Press reporters saw trash cans and burning rocks littered some downtown intersections as the smell of tear gas hung in the air. Police closed the roads leading to the central square of Vali-e Asr. Plainclothes security forces and groups of riot police could be seen throughout the area, and mobile internet service in central Tehran was down.
Dozens of protesters on motorbikes appeared briefly at several junctions, where they overturned trash cans and shouted against the authorities before speeding off.
In this photo taken by a non-AP individual and taken by AP outside Iran, riot police arrive to disperse protesters during a protest over the death of a young woman.
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In this photo taken by a non-AP individual and taken by AP outside Iran, riot police arrive to disperse protesters during a protest over the death of a young woman.
AP
Protests continue in other cities
Videos circulating on social media meanwhile showed a third day of protests in Kurdish cities in western Iran as well as the northern city of Rasht and a university in downtown Isfahan. The Associated Press was unable to independently verify the authenticity of the footage.
Ethical police arrested 22-year-old Amini last Tuesday for not covering her hair with a Muslim hijab, known as a hijab, which is mandatory for Iranian women.
Police say she died of a heart attack and deny that she was abused. They released self-contained footage last week that purported to show the moment she fell. Her family says she has no history of heart disease.
Amini, a Kurd, was buried Saturday in his hometown of Saqez in western Iran. Protests broke out there after her funeral and police fired tear gas to disperse protesters on Saturday and Sunday. Several protesters were arrested.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who departed for New York on Monday to address the United Nations General Assembly, ordered an investigation and vowed to pursue the case in a phone call with Amini’s family. The judiciary has opened an investigation and a congressional committee is also looking into the case.
The hijab has been compulsory for women in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and the ethics police are responsible for enforcing that and other restrictions. The force has come under criticism in recent years, especially over its treatment of young women.
Dozens of women dropped their headscarves in protest in 2017. Iranians have also taken to the streets in recent years to deal with an economic crisis exacerbated by related Western sanctions. to Iran’s nuclear program.
