JAKARTA - The death of a young woman in custody after being arrested by Iranian police who enforced the hijab rule sparked protests on the streets and social media on Friday, September 16.
In recent months, Iranian human rights activists have urged women to release their hijab, an act at risk of arrest for rejecting the country's dress-up rules.
Videos posted on social media showed a number of violent acts by police against women who released their hijab.
Authorities began investigating the death of the woman, Mahsa Amini, after an order from President Ebrahim Raisi, state media reported on Friday.
Police said the 22-year-old woman fell ill while waiting with another female prisoner at a Susila police station.
"Based on a thorough investigation, since the transfer to the vehicle and also to the location (police station), there has been no physical treatment for him," the police said in a statement, quoted by Antara.
Police reject allegations on social media that Amini may have been beaten.
CCTV surveillance cameras broadcast on state TV showed a woman, identified as Amini, falling after rising from her chair while talking to an officer at the police station.
Reuters could not confirm the truth of the video.
Police previously said Amini had a heart attack after being taken to the police station to "confidence and guidance", state TV said, denying allegations that he was beaten.
Amini's relatives have denied he suffered from a heart attack.
vocal politician Mahmoud Sadeghi via Twitter urged Iran's supreme leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei to speak about the case, as he criticized the US police killing of George Floyd in 2020.
Among the videos uploaded on social media, one of them shows demonstrators shouting "Death to the dictator (Khameni)" when motorists honked car horns to support the protests.
The action was held in a field in the capital Tehran near the hospital that treated Amini under the strict security of the police.
The US special envoy for Iran, Robert U.S., said on Twitter: "The death of Mahsa Amini, after suffering injuries in detention due to her 'inappropriate' hijab, horrific&helip; Those involved in her death must be held accountable".
Amnesti International Human Rights group said on Twitter: "... charges of torture and other ill-treatment in detention, must be investigated criminally &helip; All agents and officers in charge must stand trial".
Under the Iranian law, which has been in effect since the 1979 revolution, women are required to cover their hair and wear long and loose clothes.
Violators of the regulation will be given a warning in public, fined or arrested.
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