UN Women expresses “deep concern” over death of Mahsa Amini in Iran and calls for “impartial” investigation

UN Women on Friday expressed “deep concern” over the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian woman who died in custody after being detained by the ‘morality police’ for wearing the wrong flight and called for an “impartial” investigation by an independent authority.

“UN Women is deeply concerned and saddened by the death in Iran of Mahsa Amini at the age of 22. We convey our heartfelt condolences to the family. The death of any young girl, any young woman, is a tragedy. The circumstances surrounding this event are a cause for particular concern,” the agency said in a statement.

Thus, it has said that while “the causes and circumstances surrounding her death are unclear,” “what is clear is that she was detained and treated in a manner that violates the most basic Human Rights.” “The incident further underscores the abuses suffered by women and girls around the world,” he said.

“In this context, we echo the call of our colleagues at the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for a prompt, impartial and effective investigation by a competent independent authority,” he said.

Amini, 22, a member of Iran’s Kurdish minority, was detained on September 13 in Tehran for improper dress and died three days later after falling into a coma after fainting in a detention center amid allegations of torture and ill-treatment.

Amini’s death has sparked protests in the country that have resulted in at least 17 deaths, according to the Iranian television channel Al Alam, although the non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights (IHR) has claimed that at least 31 civilians have been killed in the crackdown.

The Tehran Police came out on Monday in response to the controversy and assured that Amini’s death was an “unfortunate incident”, while the Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisi, spoke on Sunday by telephone with the family and promised a thorough investigation to clarify what happened.