What's going on in Iran?

Baku/21.09.22/Turan: The death of 22-year-old Mehsa Amini, who was detained for not wearing the hijab properly, caused mass protests in Iran. Mehsa Amini was detained by the Iranian Law Enforcement Forces (vice squad) at around 6 pm on Tuesday, September 14 near the “Shahid Haqqani” metro station in Tehran; she was with her brother. After her brother Kiaresh Amini protested, he was told that she would be taken to the police station, where they would have a "edifying talk" and be released in an hour. But everything happened differently, the girl was beaten at the police station. After that, Mehsa, who was in a coma, was taken to the hospital. On September 16, after two days of fighting for life, Amini passed away in the intensive care unit of “Kesra” Hospital in Tehran.

Iranian authorities claim that the cause of Mehsa's death was a heart attack. However, the girl's family stated that Mehsa was healthy and died not from the disease, but from her injuries.

According to “Radio Liberty”,  four people were killed and 15 were injured during the clashes. Iranian authorities do not officially confirm this information. State television reported that several protesters were detained, but denied reports of deaths. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken reacted to the events. On his Twitter account, he called for "an end to the systematic persecution of women and to allow peaceful protests."

Political observer Sadraddin Soltan commented on the events in Iran in the "Difficult Question" program.

In his opinion, the death of Mehsa Amini is only an excuse for the people to display the accumulated indignation.

“In fact, there are a lot of similar cases in Iran. Suffice it to say, that three months ago in South Azerbaijan,  Maleyka Garagezlu was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 4 years and six months because of hijab. The events taking place in Iran are a protest against the restriction of personal freedoms, interference in the household and family affairs of families, and the violent rules of the Iranian authorities.” Soltan noted.

According to the observer, protests against the hijab began in Iran almost immediately after the victory of the Islamic revolution.

“Women actively resisted, refused to wear the hijab, held protests. And in the course of this struggle there were losses - some were sentenced to imprisonment, others were injured. There were also those who died. About a year after the revolution, women's resistance was broken,” Soltan said.

The observer stressed that since 1998, protests and even riots have taken place in Iran more than once.

“Suffice it to recall the “green movement” of 2009. Mass protests in Iran occur both on social and political, ethnic grounds. Over the 43 years of the mullahs' rule, many problems have accumulated that the regime is unable to solve,” the expert believes.

Soltan also drew attention to the fact that the issue of the hijab is of fundamental importance for the Iranian authorities, since “it is one of the cornerstones of the Iranian ideology.”—0—