US Progressives Express Solidarity With Iranian Protesters After Death of Mahsa Amini

Progressive U.S. lawmakers on Friday expressed solidarity with anti-government protesters that have spread to cities across Iran as people express outrage over the death of a 22-year-old woman who was in police custody after facing the accusation of violating the country’s strict dress code.

As authorities have cracked down on the protests, which are now taking place in more than five dozen cities, more than 30 people have reportedly been killed and hundreds have been injured or arrested.

The protests erupted this past week after the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish Iranian woman, on September 16. Amini had been in a coma for three days following her arrest in Tehran by the country’s so-called “morality police.” She faced the accusation of wearing an “improper” head covering.

A photo of Amini in a coma sparked outrage when it circulated on social media. Her family has accused police of beating Amini, rejecting a police report that she suffered a heart attack while in custody.

Since the demonstrations began, participants have also decried the country’s struggling economy. The sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other countries in the Global North have severely weakened Iran’s economy.

U.S. anti-war group CodePink noted that U.S. sanctions on Iran’s internet services have for years endangered and violated the rights of Iranians by forcing them to rely on “state-run services that the state easily monitors and censors.”

The group applauded the U.S. State Department’s decision to relax the internet sanctions, noting that Iranian-American campaigners have consistently put pressure on the U.S. government to do so.