Popular protests continue in Iran after the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, and at a time when the police announced the arrest of 22 demonstrators, human rights organizations confirmed the killing of 3 protesters, while the United Nations expressed concern about the Iranian government’s reaction to the protests over Amini’s death.

Mahsa Amini, 22, died last Friday, after she fell into a coma after the morality police arrested her in Tehran last week, because of her "inappropriate dress", which sparked outrage across the country and protests in many regions, including the capital. Tehran.

The protests expanded on Monday, most intensely in the Kurdish region.

The Kurdish human rights group Henkau said three people were killed there yesterday when security forces opened fire on protesters.

News agencies could not independently verify the news, and there was no official confirmation of the dead.

According to the human rights organization, 13 Kurdish cities - including the city of Saqqaz, Mahsa Amini's hometown - witnessed protests on Monday, and 250 people were arrested.

Fars news agency reported that the police arrested and dispersed demonstrators on Monday evening in Tehran using batons and tear gas.

She reported that hundreds of people chanted slogans against the authorities, noting that some women "removed their headscarves."

« Mort au Dictateur !

», deuxième jour de manifestation contre le régime en Iran, touché par une vague d'indignation après la mort de Mahsa Amini, une femme de 22 ans décédée suite à son arrestation par la police des mœurs #Iran #Mahsa_Amini #Mahsa_Amini #mahsa_twitter .com/boWW5HFTIo

— Anonyme Citoyen (@AnonymeCitoyen) September 18, 2022

Videos posted on social media showed demonstrations in several cities, with women waving their headscarves alongside protesters facing security forces.

In contrast, Tehran Governor Mohsen Mansouri accused protesters of attacking police and destroying public property.

He added that burning the flag, pouring diesel on the roads, throwing stones and attacking the police, setting fire to motorbikes and trash cans, and damaging public property are not the work of ordinary people.

The deputy police chief in the northern Iranian province of Gilan said that the police had arrested 22 protesters on charges of damaging public property.


conflicting stories

Police said Amini fell ill while in custody with other women arrested by the morality police, who have enforced strict rules since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution and require women to cover their hair and wear loose clothing.

The chief of the Greater Tehran Police, Hossein Rahimi, criticized what he called the "cowardly accusations" made against the Iranian police for causing Amini's death, stressing that she did not suffer any bodily harm, and that the police "did everything" to keep her alive.

Rahimi added - in a statement carried by Fars News Agency - that "this incident is unfortunate for us, and we hope that we will never witness such incidents."

Police showed a video clip showing a woman - identified as Amini - talking to someone who appeared to be checking part of her clothes, then the woman put her hands on her head and collapsed.

Rahimi stated that paramedics arrived within one minute of her fall.

But Amini's father confirmed - to the pro-reform news site "Extension" - on Monday that his daughter did not suffer from any health problems, and that she had bruises in her legs, and held the police responsible for her death.

According to Amini's father, the police took two hours to take his daughter to the hospital, "and if she had arrived earlier, she would not have died."

In turn, the government expressed its regret over the incident, and the President of the Republic, Ibrahim Raisi, called on the Minister of Interior to open an investigation into the causes of the incident, which brought to the fore the debate about the role of the "moral police."

Protesters set fire to the streets of Tehran to protest the killing of Mahsa Amini (Reuters)

condemnation and concern

In a related context, the United Nations expressed - today, Tuesday - its concern over the death of Iranian citizen Mahsa Amini, following her arrest by the police, and Tehran's "repression" of the popular protests that followed.

A spokeswoman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani, said Amini fell into a coma shortly after collapsing in the Vozara detention center, and then died three days after her arrest.

The UN official pointed out that reports indicate that Amini was hit on the head with a baton, while she was being held in a car called the morality police.

The UN official also urged the Iranian authorities to support the Amini family, so that they can access "justice and truth."

Earlier, the United States demanded that those responsible for Mahsa's killing be held accountable, saying that the death of the 20-year-old woman - after she was injured while in police custody for wearing a headscarf "described as inappropriate" - is a horrific and outrageous affront to human rights.

For its part, France also condemned the arrest of Amini and the violence that caused her death.