In Iran, in particular in Tehran and Mashhad, there were new protests after the death of a young woman detained by the authorities, and on Monday the police again denied responsibility for the death, writes AFP.

The demonstration took place on Sunday night in Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province (northwest), where the young woman is from, and other protests took place on Monday at several universities in the capital, local media reported.

On Monday evening, on Hejab Street in central Tehran, “several hundred people chanted anti-government slogans and some women took off their hijabs,” the Fars news agency reported.

A short video released by the agency shows several dozen people, including women who have removed their veils, shouting “death to the Islamic Republic.”

“Police arrested several people and dispersed the crowd with batons and tear gas,” Fars reported.

A similar rally was held in Mashhad, the country’s first holy city, in the northeast, Tasnim news agency reported.

On September 13, Masha Amini was arrested in Tehran for “wearing inappropriate clothing” by the Morality Police, the unit responsible for enforcing the strict dress code for women in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Covering your hair in public is mandatory in Iran. Police also prohibit women from wearing, among other things, half-coats above the knee, skinny pants and jeans with holes, and brightly colored clothing.

The young woman fell into a coma after her arrest and died on September 16 in hospital, state television and her family reported.

Activists called her death “suspicious”, but Tehran police said there was “no physical contact” between the police and the victim.

The death of the young woman caused a wave of anger in Iran. And the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raissi, called for an investigation.

According to Fars, after the first demonstration on Saturday in Sageza, Mahsa Amin’s hometown, a protest involving around 500 people took place in Sananj.

“unfortunate incident”

“Participants of the action shouted slogans against officials, broke windows in cars and set garbage cans on fire,” the agency reported. Police fired “tear gas to disperse the crowd” and arrested “several people.”

“Many protesters are convinced that Mahsa died under torture,” writes Fars.

According to Tasnim, in the capital of Iran, students started protests near several universities, including Tehran and Shahid Beheshti.

They demanded an “explanation” from the authorities regarding the death of the Iranian woman.

Tehran’s police chief, General Hossein Rahimi, again rejected the “unfair accusations against the police”.

“There was no negligence on our part. We conducted an investigation (…) and all the evidence shows that there was no negligence or misconduct on the part of the police,” he said.

“This is an unfortunate incident and we want to never see such incidents again,” he added.

Decent clothes

General Rahimi reiterated that the young woman violated the dress code and that the police asked Mahsa’s relatives to bring her “decent clothes.”

On the day of her death, state television showed a short surveillance video showing the woman, identified as Mahsa Amini, passed out in a police station after an argument with a policewoman.

On Monday, Amjad Amini, the victim’s father, told Fars that “the video was cut” and clarified that his daughter “was transferred to the hospital late.”

Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said on Saturday that “Mahsa seems to have had problems before” and that she “underwent brain surgery at the age of five”.

The information was denied by the father, who assured that his daughter is “absolutely healthy”.

The young woman was arrested while she was in Tehran visiting her family.

In recent months, the moral police have come under fire for their violent intervention.

Numerous filmmakers, artists, athletes, politicians and religious figures have expressed their anger on social media following the young woman’s death.

Former president and reformist leader Mohammad Khatami called on the authorities to “bring the perpetrators to justice.”