Pressured by the protests, The president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, assured this Thursday that the death of Mahsa Amini will be investigated, the young woman who died after being arrested by the morality police for wearing the veil inappropriately and whose death unleashed a wave of mobilizations in the country.
“It will certainly be investigated,” Raisi told reporters at the United Nations, noting that official reports do not account for police abuses.
(Also read: Iran: a woman who was in the custody of the ‘Moral Police’ dies)
Protesters say Amini died in the custody of the police, who enforce the dress code assigned to women, but Raisi on Thursday repeated a coroner’s conclusion that the 22-year-old was not beaten by authorities.
“If there is a guilty party, it should certainly be investigated. I contacted the family of the deceased as soon as I was able and personally assured them that we will continue to vigorously investigate the incident,” he said.
The outbreak of violent protests throughout Iran completed six days on Thursday with a balance of 17 people dead, according to state media. But the number of deaths could be higher since the opposition NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), based in Oslo, speaks of at least 31 civilians killed by the security forces.
Videos posted on the internet show protesters shouting slogans such as “death to the dictator” and “women, life, freedom”, burning veils or destroying images of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, or General Qassem Soleimani, killed in a US attack in Iraq in 2020.
(You may be interested: Death of the young woman arrested for wearing the veil wrong shakes Iran)
Protests over the death of Mahsa Amini.
The death of the young
Iranian women must cover their hair and cannot wear short coats above the knees, tight pants or jeans with holes, a strict dress code controlled by the morality police.
The young woman from Kurdistan (northwest) was arrested on September 13 in Tehran accused of “wearing inappropriate clothing” by the morality police and died on September 16 in a hospital.
According to militants, Mahsa Amini received a fatal blow to the head, but the Iranian authorities denied this.
(Also: Iran blocks access to social networks for protests that have already claimed 17 lives)
Demonstrations began immediately after the announcement of his death and spread to 15 cities across Iran.
“Seventeen people, including protesters and policemen, have lost their lives in the events of recent days” according to a new balance from State television, which did not give more details.
A previous balance of the media spoke of seven demonstrators and four dead policemen. The Tasnim news agency later indicated that a fifth officer was killed in a protest in Quchan (northwest).
The Iranian authorities denied their involvement in the deaths of the protesters. The Guardians of the Revolution denounced an “extreme media war” and a “conspiracy doomed to failure.”
![Protests in Iran.](https://www.eltiempo.com/images/1x1.png)
international condemnation
Mahsa Amini’s death also drew harsh condemnation from around the world. On Wednesday at the UN General Assembly in New York, US President Joe Biden expressed his solidarity with the “brave women” of Iran.
at the time, The United States imposed this Thursday economic sanctions on the morality police and measures against Mohammad Rostami Cheshmeh Gachi, chief of the morale police; Haj Ahmad Mirzaei, head of the police morale division in Tehran, and five other security officials involved in the crackdown on protesters.
For its part, Amnesty International denounced a “brutal repression” and the illegal use of pellets and pellets against protesters in the streets.
(You can read: The Iranian President refused an interview because the journalist did not cover her hair)
If there is a guilty party, it should certainly be investigated
Since the start of the demonstrations, internet connections have slowed down and the authorities later blocked Instagram and WhatsApp, the most used applications in the country after the blocking of platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Telegram, Twitter and Tiktok.
“By decision of the authorities, it is no longer possible to access Instagram in Iran since Wednesday night and access to WhatsApp is also interrupted,” the Fars news agency announced.
The NGO Iran Human Rights indicated on Twitter that internet access was completely cut off in Tabriz (north). UN human rights experts judged that “these disturbances are part of efforts to stifle freedom of expression and limit demonstrations.”
*With information from AFP and EFE
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