An Iranian policeman brandishes a baton to disperse protesters during the mobilization in support of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by “morality police” in Tehran on September 19, 2022. – / AFP
The United Nations on Tuesday 20th September expressed concern at the violence of the Iranian authorities’ repression of the demonstrations protesting the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested by the vice squad.
Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Nada Al-Nashif said in a statement:
“The tragic death of Mahsa Amini and the allegations of torture and ill-treatment must be promptly, impartially and effectively investigated by an independent competent authority, which will specifically ensure that her family has access to justice and truth. »
Police fired live ammunition
A spokeswoman for the Office of the High Commissioner, Ravina Shamdasani, said that “two to five people [avaient] was reportedly killed” during demonstrations to denounce the young woman’s death in several cities in the country, including the capital Tehran. She added that police “fired live ammunition” and used tear gas.
Al-Nashif also pointed out that veiling laws remain a concern in Iran, where appearing in public without a hijab is punishable by imprisonment.
In an unusual position, an Iranian parliamentarian criticized the moral police, whose actions are controversial. “Gascht-e Ershad [patrouille d’orientation] achieves no results other than harming the country,” MP Jalal Rashidi Koochi told ISNA news agency.
“The main problem is that some people don’t want to see the truth (…). Do the people who are led to these reconnaissance sessions by these orientation police come back to their senses and regret it when they come out? asked the deputy.
in a message to Twitter, Tehran Governor Mohsen Mansouri estimated on Tuesday that the rallies in Tehran “were organized with the aim of creating unrest. Burning the flag, pouring diesel in the streets, throwing stones, attacking the police, setting motorcycles and garbage cans on fire, destroying public property, etc. are not the business of ordinary people.”
French politicians support mobilized women
Several French leaders, including the President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet, pledged their support to the Iranian women on Tuesday. “Mahsa Amini was 22 and just wanted to live free. Today she is no more. In Iran courage is female. It is that of all women who stand up in the name of their freedom today. Your fight is ours,” Yaël Braun-Pivet continued Twitter.
#MahsaAmini was 22 and just wanted to live free. Today she is no more. In Iran courage is f… https://t.co/aXeIoSO0WE
“Support for Iranian women fighting for their freedom. Shocked by the barbaric murder of Mahsa Amini! ‘ also responded the social networkthe President (Les Républicains) of the Ile-de-France region and former presidential candidate Valérie Pécresse.
The First Secretary of the Socialist Party, Olivier Faure, also took up the matter Twitter “for Mahsa Amini and for all other women who dream of freedom and equality”.
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22-year-old Mahsa Amini, originally from the Kurdistan Region (north-west of the country), was arrested on September 13 while visiting her family in Tehran. She died in hospital on Friday after three days in a coma.
According to Iranian authorities, the young woman died of natural causes, but was severely beaten on the head and hit her head against a vice squad vehicle, according to the High Commission.
Also read: In Iran, new demonstrations after the death of a young woman arrested by the vice squad