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Iranians protest in capital over Mahsa Amini, young woman who died in police custody

  • Iranians take to streets of capital and elsewhere to protest the death of a young woman in police custody
  • Mahsa Amini, 22, died last week after being detained for allegedly dressing immodestly

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A protest for Mahsa Amini in Tehran on Monday. Photo: AFP

Fresh protests broke out in Iran over the death of a young woman who had been arrested by the “morality police” that enforces a strict dress code.

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Public anger has grown since authorities on Friday announced the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, in a hospital after three days in a coma, following her arrest by Tehran’s morality police during a visit to the capital on September 13.

Demonstrations were held on Monday in Tehran, including in several universities, and the second city Mashhad, according to the Fars and Tasnim news agencies.

Protesters marched down Hijab Street – or “headscarf street” – in central Tehran denouncing the morality police, the ISNA news agency reported.

“Several hundred people chanted slogans against the authorities, some of them took off their hijab,” Fars said, adding that “police arrested several people and dispersed the crowd using batons and tear gas”.

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A brief video released by Fars showed a crowd of several dozen people, including women who had removed their headscarves, shouting “Death to the Islamic republic!”

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