Grave of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian of Kurdish origin, whose death sparked a large protest movement against his political and religious leaders. Iranwas desecrated, according to activists and the family’s lawyer.

Mahsha Amini, 22, died in September 2022 after she was arrested by Tehran’s vice police, who accused her of violating a strict dress code that requires women in the Islamic Republic to wear headscarves.

Mahsha Amini, who left for Tehran with her family at the time, was buried in her hometown of Shakez in Iran’s Kurdistan province, where activists say authorities are determined to prevent any public gatherings in her memory.

The French-based Kurdish Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported that on the morning of May 21, the tomb, which bears her Kurdish name Zina in large Persian letters, was attacked. Photos posted on social media from Brother Askan’s Instagram account show that the glass protecting Amini’s photo on the tombstone has been broken.

“Unfortunately, on Sunday morning, people we know who have already acted in the same way in the past attacked the grave of Zina Mahsa Amini,” Saleh Nikbakht, the family’s lawyer, said in a statement released by KHRN.

He did not specify who these people were, but added that the authorities had previously intervened to prevent the construction of a protective canopy over the grave.

Mahshi Amini’s family and supporters say she was killed by a blow to the head while in custody, but authorities say she died of an acute heart attack caused by her previous poor health.

More than 500 people have died in the crackdown on protests, according to the Norwegian NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR). Iran also proceeded to hang seven people on charges related to the protests, which activists describe as a deliberate policy to create a climate of fear.

Amnesty International warned this week that seven more men face execution in connection with the protests.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.