DUBA, September 17 (Reuters) – Police used tear gas on Saturday to disperse demonstrators gathered for the funeral of a young woman who died after being arrested by the vice squad, which notably controls the wearing of a headscarf. Islamic.
Videos posted on social media showed protesters chanting anti-government slogans in several towns including Saqez, birthplace of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in a hospital in Thran on Friday.
“Death to the dictator”, shouted in reference to supreme guide, the ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a crowd where women removed their hijab, whose wearing is obligatory in public.
In videos that Reuters could not authenticate, the police used tear gas and a man appeared to have had a head injury.
In recent months, human rights activists have encouraged women to go bareheaded in public, a move considered “immoral” by the Islamic dress code.
Rallies also took place in the provincial capital, Sanandaj, on Saturday, where videos showed protesters – chanting “Saqez is not alone, she is supported by Sanandaj” – confronting riot police.
The authorities have called for investigations to establish the causes of Mahsa Amini’s death; the results will not be known for three weeks, according to a medical examiner.
Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli told state television there was no information that the deceased had been beaten.
According to the police, Mahsa Amini fell ill while waiting inside a police station with other women arrested like her. The police broadcast closed-circuit television footage supporting their version of events. Reuters could not authenticate the video, which appears to have been edited.
Police had earlier said the deceased suffered a heart attack after being taken to the police station for “education”. Her relatives said she did not suffer from any heart disease. (Duba desk report; French version Elizabeth Pineau)