Iran on Friday continued to intensify its violent crackdown on nationwide protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini — a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman detained by police last week for a supposed violation of the country’s ultraconservative dre…
Iran on Friday continued to intensify its violent crackdown on nationwide protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini — a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman detained by police last week for a supposed violation of the country’s ultraconservative dress code — who has become a symbol for nationwide anger over poverty, repression, clerical control and government impunity.
More than 30 people, the majority in Amini’s Kurdistan province, have been killed, and hundreds more have been injured or arrested, according to rights groups and news reports. The government has blocked Instagram and WhatsApp and cut or slowed access to the internet and cellular service in much of the country.
Iran’s military and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have warned they will escalate their clampdown if demonstrations do not stop — though as of Friday there was no sign of the unrest and anger abating.
According to edited CCTV footage authorities released, she appeared healthy and conservatively dressed up to this point. But footage from another camera, captured later, shows her collapsed in a hallway, then being taken away by ambulance. Amini’s family demanded the release of the unedited footage.
Amini remained hospitalized in a coma until her death on the 16th. State-affiliated news agencies said she suffered a heart attack at the police station. Her family rejected that explanation and said it did not explain her injuries. Activists said she was beaten while in police custody. Amini’s family has also dismissed the result of an initial state autopsy, which reportedly showed no internal bleeding or signs of head trauma.
Amini has become a symbol for the frustrations and injustices Iranians face — but some politicians and state-affiliated news agencies have spread false claims about her, according to her family. News reports said she was in poor health and had a brain tumor as a child, which her father denied. State-backed news agencies also described the protests as caused by violent instigators and foreign influence.
the guidance patrol, morality police drive the streets acting as an everyday religious vice squadron, cracking down on dress code violations and other offenses.
