The grave of Masha Amini, the young Iranian Kurd whose death sparked widespread protests against Iranian political and religious leaders, has been vandalized, according to activists and the family's lawyer.
Masha Amini, 22, died in September 2022 after being arrested by Tehran vice police who accused her of breaking the strict dress code requiring women to wear the veil in the Islamic Republic.
Demonstrations after his death had challenged the Islamic system that has ruled Iran since the 1979 revolution. However, they have weakened in amplitude in recent months even if actions continue in a more sporadic way.
The young woman, who had traveled to Tehran with her family, is buried in her hometown of Saqez, in Iran's Kurdistan province, where activists say authorities are determined to prevent any public gatherings in her memory.
The France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) said the grave, bearing her Kurdish name Zhina in large Persian letters, was attacked on the morning of May 21. Footage posted to social media, believed to come from her brother Ashkan's Instagram account, showed the glass protecting a portrait of Amini on the headstone was shattered.
“Unfortunately, on Sunday morning, people whom we already know and who have acted in the same way in the past, attacked the grave of Zhina Mahsa Amini,” family lawyer Saleh Nikbakht said in a statement published by KHRN.
He did not specify who these individuals were, adding that the authorities had intervened earlier to prevent the construction of a protective canopy over the tomb.
"So the glass of your tombstone bothers them too? Let them break it a thousand times, we'll fix it again, let's see who gets tired first," Ashkan Amini said in his social media post.
Masha Amini's family and supporters claim she was killed with a blow to the head in police custody, but authorities say her death was due to a heart attack brought on by her previous poor health.
According to the Norwegian NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), the repression of the demonstrations left more than 500 dead. Iran has also hanged seven men in cases linked to protests in what activists describe as a deliberate policy aimed at creating a climate of fear.
Amnesty International warned this week that seven more men were at risk of execution in connection with the protests.
05/24/2023 22:37:53 - Paris (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
