Mahsa Amini's death: Iran President vows probe into matter; accuses West of 'double standards'

Name: Mahsa Amini's death: Iran President vows probe into matter; accuses West of 'double standards'
Uploaded: 2022-09-23T02:14:58+05:30
Duration: 4 min 31 s
Description: Mahsa Amini died last week following her arrest by Iran's morality police for wearing a hijab in an "improper" way.

Mahsa Amini died last week following her arrest by Iran's morality police for wearing a hijab in an "improper" way.

TN World Desk

Updated Sep 23, 2022, 02:18 IST

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

Video footage of demonstrations in Iran shows protesters shouting "Death to the dictator" and "Woman, life, freedom"
The US Treasury put Iran's morality police on its sanctions blacklist, holding them responsible for Amini's death
As a protest against the strict dress code, some Iranian women burnt their scarves

New York: Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday said that the death of a young woman that sparked protests in the Islamic republic was a matter that has to be investigated, but accused Western powers of hypocrisy.

Ebrahim Raisi is in New York to attend the General Assembly of the United Nations. At a news conference, the clerical leader repeated a coroner's conclusion that Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, 22, had not been beaten before her death, a claim that was rejected by protesters.

He, however, said: "But I don't want to rush to a conclusion."

"If there is a party at fault, it certainly must be investigated. I contacted the family of the deceased at the very first opportunity and I assured them personally that we will continue steadfastly to investigate the incident," he added.

According to protesters, many of whom are women, Amini died while being held prisoner by the morality police.

Raisi further accused the West of "double standards" after Washington imposed sanctions on the police unit and cited police killings in the United States and statistics on women's deaths in Britain.

"Why not call for the exact same thing for those who lose their lives at the hands of law enforcement and other agents throughout the West -- Europe, North America, the United States of America?" said Raisi.

"Those who suffer unjust beatings, why are there no investigations that follow up on them?"

When asked about curbs on the use of the internet in Iran, where 17 people have died in unrest since Amini's death last week, Raisi did not respond, but said peaceful protests were acceptable.

"These are normal and fully expected. But we must differentiate between demonstrators and vandalism," said the Iranian leader.

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