“Dear Mahsa, your name will become a symbol,” proclaimed the front page of the economic daily on Sunday. Asiain line with much of the press Iranshocked by the death of a young woman following being detained by the morality police.
That unit, in charge of monitoring the correct use of the Muslim veil, mandatory in the country, and in general of supervising respect for the strict dress code imposed on Iranian women, has been criticized on several occasions in recent months for its violent interventions. once morest young people accused of violating said norms, in force in the country since the islamic revolution in 1979.
Originally from Iranian Kurdistan, Mahsa Amini, 22, was in the capital visiting with her family when she was arrested last Tuesday.
On Friday followingnoon, a crowd gathered outside the hospital Kasrain the center of Tehranwhere the young woman died following spending three days in a coma.
In Saghezher hometown, where she was buried on Saturday, residents threw stones at the governor’s headquarters and shouted hostile slogans, before being dispersed with tear gas by police.
On Sunday, almost all the media in the capital carried the death of the young woman on the front page.
“People are shocked and furious at what happened to Mahsa Amini“, pointed out the reformist daily Etemad, indicating that the country has verified “on several occasions the violence of the morality police”.
The moderate newspaper Jomhouri Eslami he warned once morest the “social fracture” that can be caused by the “violent behavior” of police officers.
The newspaper Irana government publication, accused the reformists of “exploiting the emotions of the people by using an unfortunate incident to turn the nation once morest the government and the president.”
For its part, the ultraconservative newspaper Kayhan criticized that “the number of rumors and lies following Mahsa’s death” have “increased considerably.”
“Despite this, the publication of images of this incident by the police has confused the opportunists who wanted to instrumentalize this incident,” the newspaper added.
By that he meant a short surveillance video broadcast on official television in which a woman presented as Mahsa is shown collapsing at the police station following arguing with an agent.
Iranian Police Version
Tehran police said Thursday in a statement that Amini had been detained along with other women to receive “explanations and instructions” regarding the dress code.
“Suddenly, she suffered a heart problem… she was immediately taken to hospital,” the statement said.
“Unfortunately, he passed away. and his body has been transferred to the medico-legal institute,” state television said on Friday.
The police confirmed the death in a statement stressing that “no” there was “physical contact” between the agents and the woman.
Mahsa Amini “as well as a certain number of people, due to wearing inappropriate clothing, was taken to one of the police headquarters”, but “she fainted suddenly when I was with other people in a meeting room,” said the same source.
President Ebrahim Raissi has called for an investigation to be opened.
1.5 million tweets
Numerous filmmakers, artists, and sports, political, and even religious personalities expressed their indignation in the social networks.
Former president and reformist leader Mohammad Khatami called on the authorities to “end the actions contrary to law, logic and sharia“, and to “bring to justice” those responsible for the Amini’s death.
Grand Ayatollah Asadolah Bayat Zanjani described as “illegitimate” and “illegal” the “set of behaviors and events” that triggered the “unfortunate and unfortunate incident”.
“The Koran clearly forbids the faithful to use force to impose the values they consider to be religious and moral“, he indicated.
“Mahsa is now more alive than us,” said filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, winner of two Oscars for best foreign film. “We are asleep, without reacting to this endless cruelty. We are accomplices in this crime,” he asserted.
“Our daughters’ hair is covered by a shroud,” several players from the national soccer team wrote in a common story (ephemeral post) on Instagram.
“If they are Muslims, may God make me an infidel,” Bayer Leverkusen striker Sardar Azmoun said.
On Twitter, the hashtag #Mahsa_Amini in Persian was at the number one trending spot on Twitter at noon on Sunday, with nearly 1.5 million tweets.
