"Iran's Amini Sign, Which Sparked Hijab Protests, Assaulted While Detained"

"Iran suppresses hijab protests with extrajudicial killings, torture, and sexual persecution"

On the 8th (local time), the cause of death of Mahsa Amini (22), a Kurdish woman who became the catalyst for the so-called 'Hijab protests' that swept Iran in 2022, was revealed by an international human rights organization's investigation to be violence during detention.

The United Nations Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission stated in its first report released that day, "It has been established that the physical violence Amini suffered while in custody led to her unlawful death." Iranian authorities have so far maintained that Amini's cause of death was due to 'illness.'

The Hijab protests were triggered in September 2022 by the suspicious death of Kurdish Iranian woman Amini, who was arrested by the morality police for not properly wearing a hijab. Large-scale protests ensued, but the Iranian authorities responded with harsh crackdowns.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding this, the fact-finding mission pointed out, "According to reliable figures, 551 protesters were killed by security forces, of whom at least 49 were women and 68 were children," adding, "Most of the deaths were caused by firearms, including assault rifles."

The mission also indicated that during the suppression, Iranian authorities violated international law through extrajudicial and unlawful killings, unnecessary use of force, arbitrary deprivation of liberty, torture, rape, enforced disappearances, and sexual persecution.

Furthermore, the mission identified the root causes of the incident as the violent repression of peaceful protests and pervasive institutional discrimination against women. Sarah Hossein, Chair of the UN Human Rights Council's fact-finding mission, stated, "These actions by Iran are part of a widespread and systematic attack against women, girls, men, and boys demanding freedom, equality, and dignity," emphasizing, "We urge the Iranian government to immediately cease the repression of those participating in peaceful protests, especially women and girls."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.