Iran Police refute claims of torturing 22-yr-old; calls death 'unfortunate' amid protests

Amid furious protests in Iran over the death of an Iranian woman, police here have called the incident "unfortunate" and refuted the claims of any custodial torture. According to semi-official news agency Fars News, Greater Tehran Police Commander Hossein Rahimi, during a press conference, termed the incident "unfortunate" and said he wished the country would never witness such incidents again. "The incident was unfortunate for us and we wish to never witness such incidents," said Rahimi.

His remarks came as Iran has been witnessing protests in several regions including, in the hometown of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained by the so-called “morality police” after claiming that the woman was not wearing the hijab properly. Although police released a video of Amini collapsing after being fainted in the police station, protestors alleged she had suffered serious injuries during the police custody. A relative has said she had no history of heart disease. The Kasra hospital in Tehran, where police took Amini after she collapsed and slipped into a coma, said she was brought in without vital signs.

Reacting to the charges, Tehran Police Commander said the accusations of harming the woman in custody were false and added the moral police had made all arrangements to save her life. "Police had done everything" to keep her alive," he said. Since the death of the 22-year-old woman, a debate has sparked against the "morality police" in the Islamic Republic. A large number of women protestors gathered and removed their Hijab or the black headscarf in protest during the funeral ceremony of Amini. The protestors chanted anti-government slogans and called for the death of the "dictator government".

Some protesters gathered in front of the governor’s building, chanting slogans, which prompted Iranian police to fire tear gas to disperse the protestors. Though the police said there were no injuries in the protest, several videos of people facing grave injuries surfaced on social media platforms. In some videos, police were seen firing tearing gas and water cannons.

Compulsory and controversial hijab rule in Iran 

It is worth mentioning the headscarf has been compulsory for women in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and members of the morality police enforce the strict dress code. The force has been criticised in recent years over its treatment of people, especially young women, and videos uploaded on social media have shown officers forcing women into police vehicles. Since 2017, after dozens of women publicly took off their headscarves in a wave of protests, authorities have adopted tougher measures. Despite protests, Iranian hard-liners have called for harsh punishment and even lashes of women who disobey the hijab law, arguing that allowing women to show their hair leads to moral decay and the disintegration of families. 

Image: AP