IRAN – A 22-year-old Iranian woman is currently in a coma in hospital after being detained in Tehran by the “morality police”, the country’s human rights advocates reported. Mahsa Amini, of Kurdish origin, was visiting the Iranian capital with her family when she was arrested by this special police unit, in charge of enforcing the obligation of Iranian women to wear the veil and respect Islamic laws.
Her brother Kiarash explained to the IranWire website that while waiting for her outside the police station, he saw an ambulance leave with his sister inside on the way to the hospital. He added that he had been informed that his sister had suffered a heart attack and stroke, and that she was in a coma.
“Only two hours elapsed between his arrest and his transfer to the hospital,” he declared, stating his intention to file a complaint. “I have nothing to lose. I will not allow things to continue like this without protest, she stressed.
In a statement, Tehran police confirmed that Mahsa Amini had been detained, along with other women, to receive “explanations and instructions” about the dress code. “She suddenly suffered a heart problem and was immediately taken to hospital with the cooperation of the police and emergency services,” the statement said.
According to the IranWire report , Mahsa and her family had arrived in the capital for a pleasure trip. At around 6:30 pm, she and her brother were at the Shahid Haghani Expressway entrance when a morality watch van blocked their path. The officers grabbed Mahsa and forced her inside. Her brother tried to intervene, but his arm was twisted behind his back. After disentangling, they told him that Mahsa would be taken to the police station and released after a one-hour “re-education class”.
At 8:17 p.m. the same day, doctors told the family that Mahsa could not be saved. They explained that she had suffered a heart attack and a stroke, and although her heart was still beating, her brain was no longer working.
Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the law in force in Iran requires women, Iranians and foreigners – whatever their religion – to go out with a veil on their heads.
