iran-protests-web-st

Picture Credit: Twitter

Iranian authorities on Friday held a former football player after he extended his support to the protest over the custodial death of a young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini. According to local media reports, Maahini was arrested by the order of the judicial authorities for supporting and encouraging riots on his social media pages.

Apart from Hossein Maahini, a number of Iranian sportsmen, actors and filmmakers have backed the movement urging authorities to listen to the dissent of the public. Even, Iran's two-time Oscar-winning director Asghar Farhadi on Sunday requested the people around the world to stand in solidarity with the protestors. During a football match against Senegal in Vienna on Tuesday, the entire Iranian team remained dressed in black during the anthems rather than exposing the national strip. 

The death of a young girl over hijab sparked massive outrage in the country as deadly demonstrations have erupted across Iran. Mahsa Amini was visiting Tehran with her brother when she was detained by the so-called morality police for allegedly violating strict codes on female clothing.

She was taken to the Vozara police station and shortly after an ambulance arrived to take her to the hospital, where she reportedly died a few days later. Eyewitnesses have been claiming that Amini was beaten by officers in a police van and then at a detention centre.

Tehran' provincial governor Mohsen Mansouri warned the state will take action against the celebrities who have fanned the flames of the riots. Activists have also taken to social media to stand in solidarity with Amini and the protests, by cutting their hair. This includes former Iran detained Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, who spent six years in Iranian detention after being arrested at Tehran airport during a family visit.