A university student who stripped down to her underwear as a sign of protest was arrested in Iran

Paris — Iranian authorities arrested a student on Saturday after she staged a solo protest against harassment by stripping down to her underwear outside her university, reports said.

According to reports from several media outlets and social media channels outside Iran, the woman, who has not been identified, was harassed at Tehran’s prestigious Islamic Azad University by members of the Basij paramilitary group, who tore off her headscarf and clothes. She then took off her clothes in protest and sat down outside the university wearing only her underwear before brazenly walking down the street to the astonishment of passers-by, videos posted on social media showed.

Under IranAccording to the mandatory dress code, women must wear a headscarf and loose clothing in public places.

The video, which was first published by the Iranian student social media channel Amir Kabir Newsletter, was shared by numerous Persian-language outlets, including the human rights group Hengaw and news website Iran Wire, as well as Amnesty International. It seems that he was shot dead by eyewitnesses in a nearby house. Another video shows men in civilian clothes putting her in a car and taking her to an undisclosed location.

The Amir Kabir newsletter claimed that she was beaten during her arrest.

“Iranian authorities should immediately and unconditionally release a university student who was forcibly arrested after she removed her clothes to protest the brutal use of the veil by security forces.” Amnesty International said.

The London-based human rights group, which has documented allegations of ill-treatment of women in Iranian prisons in recent years, added: “Pending her release, the authorities must protect her from torture and other ill-treatment and provide her with access to family and a lawyer.”

It added that “allegations of beatings and sexual abuse against her during her arrest require an independent and impartial investigation.”

Iran’s conservative Fars news agency confirmed the incident in a report that published a heavily blurred photo of the student.

It said the student was wearing “inappropriate clothing” in class and “undressed” after being warned by security guards to follow the dress code.

Citing “witnesses,” the security guard reportedly spoke “calmly” with the student and denied reports that their actions were aggressive.

Almost nationwide In 2022, after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, protests broke outan Iranian Kurdish woman who was arrested for allegedly violating the dress code. Protests, during which women violated taboos by removing headscarves and sometimes even burning them, died down in front of suppression of 551 protesters and thousands arrested.

Many of those involved in the crackdown alleged ill-treatment during their detention, including some who said they were tortured and sexually assaulted. The Iranian authorities deny all these accusations, calling them propaganda aimed at harming the country’s international reputation.

Later, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei announced an official pardon for all those arrested during the protests, although many reported re-arrest or persecution authorities later.

Last September, after Amini’s death and the crackdown that followed, CBS News journalist Seyed Bathai said that street protests in Iran had all but disappeared, but the government appeared to still fighting with the lingering consequences of riots. Many women, especially in big cities and in universities, continued to avoid the Islamic hijab while on the streets.

However, a year later, the country’s leaders passed a new law, touted as the “chastity and hijab bill,” in an attempt to introduce a mandatory dress code.

Penalties for breaking the hijab rules in the bill are said to range from fines for first-time offenders to whipping and denial of public services and even long prison terms for repeat offenders.

“We shouldn’t leave each other alone,” wrote Katayoun Riahi, an actress who supported the protests, in an Instagram post expressing her support for the student.

Hossein Ronagi, a prominent Iranian activist who was jailed during the protests, posted on X to applaud the student’s “bravery” and described her act as “a cry from the bottom of his heart against the oppression that took life.” people, especially women.”