3 killed in Iran during anti hijab protest
Three people were killed in Iran on Tuesday during protests over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by morality police.
Iranian Governor Esmail Zarei Kousha told Al Jazeera that three individuals died “suspiciously” during “illegal protests” in recent days.
“Investigations have shown that these people were shot and killed by those working against the establishment and with firearms that are not employed by any tiers of security or law enforcement forces in the province,” said Governor Kousha of northwestern Kurdistan.
One person died in Divandareh, another near a hospital in Saqqez, and a third “suspicious” death is being examined.
“anti-revolutionary” groups may utilise Mahsa Amini’s name for their own purposes, he added.
Mahsa Amini, 22, was with her family in Tehran when she was detained. She had a heart attack and was rushed to the hospital by emergency services.
“Unfortunately, she died and her body was transferred to the medical examiner’s office,” state TV said Friday, according to Al Jazeera. Tehran police acknowledged Amini and other women were taken for “instruction” on the regulations.
Since Amini’s killing, protests have erupted.
They started in Saqqez, where she was buried, and moved to other Kurdish cities. In protest at Amini’s death, women burned hijabs and cut their hair.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, who promised Amini’s father an investigation earlier this week, left Tehran on Monday for the UN General Assembly.
Amini’s killing comes amid mounting concern over the morality police, Gasht-e Ershad (Guidance Patrol). The obligatory clothing code forces women to cover their hair and neck with a headscarf, Al Jazeera said.
Women have pushed back their headscarves, especially in big cities, to display their hair.
