Jina
Amini -- also known as Mahsa Amini, after being forced
to change her Kurdish name -- was only 22 years
old when she and her family travelled from
their local province to go shopping in Iran's capital
city of Tehran. But along the way, the country's
morality police noticed her and claimed she was wearing
her mandatory head covering too loosely. Her family
tried to explain they were strangers visiting, but
authorities loaded her into a van and took her into
custody. Supposedly they were going to
"re-educate" her for 1 hour. Instead,
eyewitnesses say she was beaten. Within an hour and a half,
she fell into a coma. Then, several days later, she
died.
Ms.
Amini's father says the government refused to
let him see his daughter after she died, until
the funeral. There, he found they'd wrapped her entire
body to shield it, except for her face and feet -- which
showed clear signs of bruising. He said, "I have
no idea what they did to her." The building
where police took her had CCTV, but Iranian officials
have refused to reveal the full footage. Instead,
they've released an edited version that cuts from
daylight to nighttime in a matter of seconds. Meanwhile, Amini's
cousin says eyewitnesses have told him she was beaten
and tortured, before police hit her on the head --
leading her to collapse and enter a
coma.
Tens
of thousands of Iranians from all over the country --
and millions of people all over the world -- have come
together to protest her abuse and murder. Yet
Iran's chief officials are more interested in arresting
protesters than holding Amini's tormenters
responsible. Already, police in Iran have
arrested thousands of individuals for speaking out and
protesting. They've cornered hundreds of students on the
premises of an elite university in Tehran, trapping them
and pelting them with bullets and batons. The nonprofit
organization Iran Human Rights estimates that
authorities have killed upwards of 75 civilians.
It's obvious that Iran's government will not
reveal the truth without tremendous pressure from its
people, as well as outside pressure from the rest of the
international community. Sign the petition
to demand true justice for Jina (Mahsa)
Amini!
