Mahsa Amini’s family files complaint in Iran over her arrest

Published September 28, 2022
A partial view shows traffic in Iran’s capital Tehran on September 28, 2022. — AFP
A partial view shows traffic in Iran’s capital Tehran on September 28, 2022. — AFP

Mahsa Amini’s parents have filed a complaint against the police who arrested their daughter for allegedly breaching Iran’s strict dress code before she died in custody, their lawyer said Wednesday.

Amini, 22, died in a Tehran hospital three days after her arrest by the morality police, authorities announced on September 16.

The complaint was filed “against the perpetrators of their daughter’s arrest” and the police who spoke with her following her detention, lawyer Saleh Nikbakht said, quoted by ISNA news agency.

The family has requested “a thorough investigation” into the arrest and the events that led to Amini’s hospitalisation, the lawyer said, urging authorities to release “all videos and photographs” showing her in custody.

The lawyer said the head of the prosecutor’s office “promised the case would be handled carefully and that all our requests would be taken into account”, and that “a medical team appointed by Mahsa Amini’s family would be informed” of any developments in the investigation.

Spain summons Iran ambassador

Spain summoned the Iranian ambassador Wednesday to express its opposition to the heavy-handed crackdown on mass demonstrations across Iran that has claimed dozens of lives, a diplomatic source said.

“The foreign ministry has summoned the Iranian ambassador in Madrid to express its objection over the repression of the protests and the violation of women’s rights,” the source said.

The protests erupted after Amini’s death.

In a statement, the ministry expressed Spain’s “absolute condemnation” of the violence against peaceful demonstrators and in particular its “abhorrence of the violence against Iranian woman and their rights”.

It urged the Iranian authorities to carry out “an independent investigation (into the bloodshed) and to establish responsibility in a transparent, objective and thorough manner” while “ending all arbitrary arrests” of journalists and other citizens exercising their civic freedoms.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned Wednesday the situation of women in Iran and the death of Mahsa Amini, adding in a speech that he had expressed his concern to the Iranian government.

About 100 people demonstrated in front of the Iranian embassy in Madrid Wednesday in response to an appeal from feminist groups. They held signs that read “SOS Iran” and “Iran: Women, life & freedom!”.

Demonstrators hold signs during a protest in front of the Iranian embassy in Madrid, on September 28, 2022 following the death of an Iranian woman after her arrest by the country’s morality police in Tehran. — AFP
Demonstrators hold signs during a protest in front of the Iranian embassy in Madrid, on September 28, 2022 following the death of an Iranian woman after her arrest by the country’s morality police in Tehran. — AFP

Despite the fact the crackdown has drawn condemnation from around the world, Iran’s police said Wednesday they would continue to act against the protesters “with all their might”.

So far, “around 60 people” have been killed since Amini’s death on September 16, Fars news agency said on Tuesday, a day after officials confirmed they had made more than 1,200 arrests, among them activists, lawyers and journalists.

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