Iran’s morality police detained a young woman, who later died after going into a coma, according to official media, causing outrage on social media.
The specialist police team that enforces the stringent dress code that is required for women since shortly after the Islamic revolution of 1979 detained Mahsa Amini, 22, while she was visiting Tehran with her family.
“Unfortunately, she died and her body was transferred to the medical examiner’s office,” state television reported on Friday. The announcement came a day after Tehran police confirmed Amini had been detained with other women for “instruction” about the rules.
“She suddenly suffered a heart problem while in the company of others receiving guidance [and] was immediately taken to hospital with the cooperation of the emergency services,” it said.
President Ebrahim Raisi ordered the interior minister to open an inquiry into the case.
Several lawmakers said they would raise the case in parliament, while the judiciary said it would form a special task force to investigate.
Human rights group Amnesty International responded to the incident by saying, “The circumstances leading to the mysterious death in detention of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, which include claims of torture and other ill-treatment in custody, must be legally investigated.”
Three days before to her passing, she was unlawfully detained in Tehran by the so-called “morality police,” who were implementing the oppressive, demeaning, and discriminatory regulations requiring women to wear veils at all times. Justice must be served on all of the accountable agents and officials,” it stated.
Amini’s passing occurs as the debate over the actions of Iran’s morality police, officially known as the Gasht-e Ershad, is growing both inside and outside of the country (Guidance Patrol).
A video of a mother screaming for her daughter’s release in front of a police van went popular on social media in July. The veiled woman continued to grab onto the van as it started to move, and was only let go as it picked up speed.
The mandatory dress code, which applies to all nationalities and religions, not just Iranian Muslims, requires women to conceal their hair and neck with a headscarf.
Over the decades, women have increasingly pushed back, particularly in the big cities, wearing their headscarves far back on their heads to reveal their hair.
Authorities have taken more stringent action after 2017 when scores of women openly removed their headscarves in a wave of demonstrations.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, has backed a kinder stance toward women who don’t adhere to the established clothing code. Hardliners, however, have demanded severe penalties, including lashings, claiming that permitting women to expose their hair causes moral degeneration and the breakdown of families. In recent years, the judiciary has urged the public to spread awareness about women who don’t cover their hair.
Iranian athletes, public figures, and celebrities have all condemned Amini’s case.
Former President Mohammad Khatami, who supported reform, termed the morality police’s actions a “disaster,” while outspoken politician and former congressman Mahmoud Sadeghi urged Khamenei to discuss Amini’s case in public.
Sadeghi asked on Twitter: “What does the Supreme Leader, who properly criticized US police for the killing of George Floyd, say about the abuse of Mahsa Amini by the Iranian police?”
Former footballer Ali Karimi stated on Twitter that “our children are dying” while the offspring of senior politicians are leaving the nation.
