Protests in support of Mahsa Amini and against 'improper hijab' row break out in London

London, Sept 26: Hundreds of people protested in London this weekend over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died in police custody after her arrest for allegedly failing to comply with Iran's strict rules on women's dress by wearing an "improper hijab".

 

 

 

 

Footage circulating online on Sunday (Sept 25) shows that a group of protestors voicing their anger about the suspicious death of Mahsa Amini were surging toward the Iranian Embassy in the UK capital but being beaten back by police. A separate image shows the building, which overlooks Hyde Park, splattered with red paint.

 

 

"People are being killed, tortured and harmed in silence," Sepideh Eskandari, who protested at Trafalgar Square with her friend Sogol on Saturday (Sept 24). "We are here to be their voice and ask every other person -- from wherever they are -- to stand with women." "Basic rights are something everyone should want, both women and men," she added.

 

 

 

 

 

Deadly unrest has rocked Iran for more than a week. It broke out after 22-year-old Amini collapsed while in police custody, having been arrested for "improper" hijab, a headscarf women must wear by law. "Leaked medical evidence shows the young woman from the Iranian province of Kurdistan suffered several violent blows to the head, which put her into a coma. However, Iran's authorities claim she "suffered a sudden heart attack."

 

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Mahsa Amini died on Sept 16. The two protestors, who are both in their early 30s, pointed out that the protests are about broader issues of sexism and discrimination in Iran, something brought into sharp focus by Amini's death.