Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Sunday, Aug 09, 2026

Protests at funeral of Iranian woman who died in police custody

Protests at funeral of Iranian woman who died in police custody

Local media reports say police fire tear gas at a rally following the funeral of a young woman who died after being arrested by the so-called ‘morality police’, who found fault with her hijab.

Police have fired tear gas to disperse a protest rally in western Iran following the funeral ceremony for a young woman who died in police custody in Tehran earlier this week, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.

The police said 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained on Tuesday after Iran’s so-called “morality police” found fault with her headscarf, or hijab, had died of a heart attack.

The police also released closed-circuit footage from the police station, which they say shows the moment Amini collapsed. A relative has said she had no history of heart disease.

Her body was laid to rest in her hometown of Saghez, 460km (285 miles) from Tehran in northwestern Kurdistan province, on Saturday morning, Fars reported.

“Following the funeral ceremony, some people left the scene while others remained, chanting slogans demanding detailed investigations into the dimensions of the story,” the agency said.

“The protesters then gathered in front of the governor’s office and chanted more slogans but were dispersed when security forces fired tear gas,” it added.

Amini’s death triggered an outcry against the morality police from celebrities and prominent figures on social media. Iran’s judiciary launched an investigation into her death.




Headscarves are compulsory for women in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and members of the morality police enforce the strict dress code.

They have been criticised in recent years over their treatment of people, especially young women, and videos uploaded on social media have shown officers forcing women into police vehicles.

Since 2017, after dozens of women publicly took off their headscarves in a wave of protests, authorities have adopted tougher measures.

However, the reformist Etemad Melli political party urged Iran’s parliament to cancel the law on the mandatory hijab and suggested President Ebrahim Raisi do away with the morality police.

The Kasra Hospital in Tehran, where police took Amini after she collapsed and slipped into a coma, said she was brought in without vital signs.

Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi, who rarely reacts publicly to events in Iran, expressed sorrow and called Amini’s death in custody a “crime”.

Iranian ultraconservatives have called for harsh punishment and even lashes for women who disobey the hijab law, arguing that allowing women to show their hair leads to moral decay and the disintegration of families.

The judiciary has in recent years urged people to inform about women who do not wear the hijab.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s Father and Longtime Agent, Dies at 68
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Meta Raises AI Spending Target to as Much as $145bn Despite Pressure Over Returns
Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Beyond His Bones, Hunter Biden Says
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Why Markets May Look Quiet in August After Big Tech Earnings
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
UFO: Pentagon Releases Video of Unidentified Object Tracked Over Middle East
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mutual-Defence Pact
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
A SpaceX Rocket Is About to Crash Into the Moon — and Scientists Hope to Watch
Modern Slavery Decisions Broaden the Al Fayed Inquiry’s Frame
FIFA’s Retreat Leaves a Larger Question Over Who Guards the Game
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Arrest Warrant Issued in Lebanon for Tycoon Spotted Meeting Netanyahu in Washington
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Pentagon Discloses Nearly 100 US Troop Injuries During Renewed Iran Fighting
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
Gold and Cash Seizure Puts Indonesia’s Senior Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Under Investigation
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Passenger Bound for Germany Refused to Sit Beside a Woman on a Plane — Then Slapped a Flight Attendant
Ukraine’s Leadership Rift Spills Into the Streets as Protesters Target Army Chief
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
Leadership Change and Strategic Rivalry Redraw the Political Map
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
Britain Nationalises British Steel to Protect Scunthorpe Production and Strategic Supply
×