People in Iran have again taken to the streets in several cities to protest the death last week of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody, according to reports.
In the capital Tehran, students gathered in front of the university on Monday to express their anger and grief, the daily Shargh reported.
The displays of outrage were taking different forms, with many mourning Amini’s death online while some well-known Iranian women were cutting off their hair in protest.
Amini was arrested by the religious police on Tuesday because of her un-Islamic appearance and taken to a police station.
According to police, she developed heart problems there and later died.
After her death, the hospital where she was treated wrote on a now-deleted post on Instagram that Amini was already brain dead when she was admitted on Tuesday.
Her case triggered nationwide outrage and mourning.
Numerous critics accused the police of beating Amini, which eventually led to her death on Friday.
The police had rejected this account.
The accusations are baseless, Tehran police chief Hossein Rahimi, said on Monday, according to the Mehr News Agency, adding that police always strive to ensure that such cases do not occur.
“By law, it is now our duty to remind women of the dress code.
“What they wear at home is their business, but not in public. Officers did not touch a hair on the woman’s head, however,’’ the police chief said.
Reports circulating online said the woman was arrested because her headscarf did not fit properly and a few strands of hair were visible.
Many women shared videos and photos on the internet to express their solidarity with Amini.
Among them was the well-known actress Anahita Hemmati, who posted a video on Instagram, and Shabnam Farshadjoo.
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, Iran has had strict dress codes for women.
For just as long, however, these have been ignored by women, especially in the larger cities much to the annoyance of arch-conservative politicians.
The government in Tehran and the hardliners in parliament have been trying for months to implement Islamic laws more strictly. (dpa/NAN)
