As Iranians were outraged by the death of a young woman while in the care of morality police who were enforcing tight hijab laws, protests in Iran continued on Sunday and #MahsaAmini became one of the most popular hashtags ever on Persian-language Twitter.
After being arrested in Tehran earlier in the week, 22-year-old Amini went into a coma and passed away on Friday. The case has drawn attention to Iranian women’s rights.
Police denied claims made on social media that she had been beaten, claiming that she became unwell while waiting with other women who had been arrested.
“According to the authorities, my daughter had a number of ongoing medical issues. I personally refute these allegations since my daughter was healthy and fit “On Sunday, Amini’s father spoke to the pro-reform Emtedad news website.
According to footage posted online, hundreds of demonstrators gathered near the University of Tehran on Sunday while yelling “Woman, Life, Freedom.”
Amini was from the nation’s Kurdistan area, and on Saturday there were demonstrations there as well as at the burial in her hometown of Saqez.
Iran is home to between 8 and 10 million Kurds. For years, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have suppressed dissent in the Kurdish regions of the nation, and the hardline court has executed or condemned numerous activists to lengthy prison sentences.
Police put down the protests in Saqez. Online footage indicates that at least one man suffered a head injury.
A sizable billboard of the deceased IRGC Quds Force leader Qassem Soleimani was also taken down by protesters. In January 2020, a US drone attack near the airport in Baghdad claimed his life.
A few individuals were hurt at the funeral, Behzad Rahimi, a member of parliament representing Saqez, said to the mostly unofficial ILNA news agency.
He stated that one of them was hospitalized at the Saqez Hospital after being struck by ball bearings in the intestines.
However, the Kurdish rights organization Hengaw said that 33 people were hurt in Saqez.