‘Who would believe that death of one girl so important to Westerners?’: Iran advises EU to take ‘realistic approach’
The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police last month triggered massive protests led by women throughout the country. According to a rough estimate of some human rights groups based in Iran, over 100 people, primarily women, have been killed in the protests so far. The Iranian government, on the other hand, is adamant in its ways. So much so, that it advised the Europea
“We recommend that Europeans look at the issue with a realistic approach,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a conversation with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell during a phone call on Friday. “Who would believe that the death of one girl is so important to Westerners?” Amir-Abdollahian said in a separate statement.
“If it is so, what did they do regarding the hundreds of thousands of martyrs and deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Lebanon?” Amir-Abdollahian added.
Notably, EU countries on Wednesday EU agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran over the ‘crackdown’ during a month of protests over Amini’s death.
Mahsa Amini was arrested by the country’s morality police on September 13 for not wearing her hijab properly. After her detention, she went into a coma and died three days later, which triggered massive protests throughout the country that saw women chopping their hair and burning hijab. Iran’s Forensic Organisation claimed that Amini died of illness and not due to blows to the head and vital organs and limbs. Iran has even accused the US and Israel of creating unstability in the country by supporting protesters.
The unrest in Iran still continues in spite of the crackdown by authorities. Human Rights group Amnesty International called it an ‘unrelenting brutal crackdown.’
