“The authorities must stop targeting, harassing, and detaining women who do not abide by the hijab rules,” said Al-Nashif, calling for the repeal of all discriminatory laws and regulations that impose mandatory hijab.
Thousands have taken to the streets in a number of cities across the country, including in Tehran, Isfahan, Karaj, Mashhad, Rasht, Saqqes and Sanandaj, in protests against Amini’s death. Security forces have reportedly responded with live ammunition, pellet guns and teargas. At least two people have reportedly been killed and several injured, and a number have been arrested.
Al-Nashif condemned the reported unnecessary or disproportionate use of force against protesters, and called on Iran - as a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights - to respect the right to peacefully exercise freedom of expression, assembly and association.
The Acting High Commissioner also echoed past deep concerns of the UN Secretary-General about the ongoing repression of women human rights defenders who object to compulsory veiling and the response of the authorities to protests against compulsory veiling.
The family have formally demanded the entire CCTV is released instead of the partial footage so far shown. The hospital said that Amini was brain dead when she arrived there.
“Resuscitation was performed on the patient, the heartbeat returned and the patient was admitted to the intensive care unit. Unfortunately, after 48 hours on Friday, the patient suffered a cardiac arrest again, due to brain death. Despite the efforts of the medical team, they failed to revive her and the patient died,” they said, in a statement that was deleted from the hospital’s Instagram account an hour later.
In a sign of official government concern about the incident and the public response, the interior minister, Ahmad Vahidi, said an investigation was under way but insisted Amini had a history of medical problems stretching back to when she was five years old.
Ensieh Khazali, vice-president for women in the government, said on Twitter she had spoken directly to the family and expressed her condolences, and was urgently seeking clarification of the matter.
Her intervention led to a hail of critical replies, and accounts of other incidents where women had been beaten up for not wearing the hijab.
Robert Malley, the US special envoy for Iran, said Amini’s death “in custody for an ‘improper’ hijab is appalling” and called on those responsible for her death to be brought to justice.
Amnesty International called for an investigation into Amini’s death. “The circumstances leading to the suspicious death in custody of 22-year-old young woman, Mahsa Amini, which include allegations of torture and other ill-treatment in custody, must be criminally investigated,” it said.
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