As Iranians were outraged by the death of a young woman while in the care of morality police who were enforcing strict hijab laws, protests continued on Sunday and #MahsaAmini became one of the most popular hashtags ever on Persian-language Twitter.
Amini, 22, passed away on Friday after going into a coma after being detained in Tehran earlier in the week. Her death brought attention to Iranian women's rights.
Police denied claims made on social media that she had been beaten, claiming that she became ill while waiting with other women who had been arrested. View More
According to videos posted online, hundreds of demonstrators gathered around the University of Tehran on Sunday while yelling "Woman, Life, Freedom."
Reuters could not verify the footage.
Under Iran’s sharia, or Islamic law, women are obliged to cover their hair and wear long, loose-fitting clothes. Offenders face public rebuke, fines or arrest. But in recent months activists have urged women to remove veils despite the hardline rulers’ crackdown on “immoral behaviour”.
SURGING HASHTAG
The Persian hashtag #MahsaAmini has now reached 1.63 million mentions on Twitter.Amini was from Kurdistan, where there were also protests on Saturday, including at the funeral in her hometown Saqez. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have long put down unrest among the minority Kurds. read more
Police repressed the Saqez demonstrations, with videos posted online showing at least one man with a head injury. Reuters could not authenticate the videos.
Behzad Rahimi, a member of parliament for Saqez, told the semi-official ILNA news agency that a few people were wounded at the funeral. “One of them was hospitalised in the Saqez Hospital after being hit in the intestines by ballbearings,” he said.
Kurdish rights group Hengaw said, however, that 33 people were injured in Saqez. Reuters could not independently confirm the number.