PERSIAN Australians from around Australia will converge on the lawns of Parliament House to mark the death of Mahsa Amini, at a protest planned for Tuesday (September 27) afternoon. 

The protest is being organised by the Iranian Community of Canberra, part of the Persian Australian Community Association. It is being supported by Amnesty International
ACT/SNSW.

Ms Amini was arrested by the Iran’s “morality police”, accused of not complying with discriminatory compulsory hijab laws.

Protest organisers said the 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman was arrested on September 13 whilst visiting Tehran from her home Kermanshah Province.

According to eyewitnesses, Ms Amini was violently beaten while being forcibly transferred to Vozara detention centre in Tehran. Within hours, she was transferred to Kasra hospital having fallen into a coma. She died three days later.

“The death of Mahsa Amini has set off protests in nearly 80 cities around Iran. Many thousands of people have taken to the street, including thousands of women who have
defied hijab laws, including footage circulating on social media of women burning their hijab in protest,” the organisers said.

“These protests have sparked a violent crackdown by Iranian Law Enforcement. Official numbers include 17 people have been killed in the protest, whilst human rights
organisations have indicated the number may be much higher. Amnesty International has collected evidence of security force’s unlawful use of birdshot and other metal pellets, teargas, water cannon and beatings with batons to disperse protesters.”