Iranian authorities arrested a student on Saturday after she staged a solo protest against harassment by stripping naked outside her university, according to reports.

The woman, who was not identified, was harassed inside Tehran’s prestigious Azad Islamic University by members of the Basij paramilitary forces who tore her headscarf and clothes, according to reports published by several media outlets. and external social networks. Iran.

She then took off her clothes in protest and sat outside the university, wearing only her underwear, before defiantly walking down the street, much to the astonishment of passersby, photos showed. videos posted on social networks.

Under Iran’s mandatory dress code, women must wear a headscarf and loose clothing in public.

The images, which were first published by Amir Kabir’s newsletter on the Iranian student social media channel, were published by numerous Persian-language media outlets, including rights group Hengaw and the Iran Wire news site, as well as Amnesty International.

The footage appears to have been filmed by spectators in a nearby building. Another video showed her being put into a car by men in plain clothes and driven to an undisclosed location.

“Cry from the bottom of my heart”

Newsletter Amir Kabir claims she was beaten during her arrest.

“The Iranian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release the student who was violently arrested after she removed her clothes to protest the abusive enforcement of compulsory veiling by security officers,” Amnesty International said.

The London-based human rights group, which has reported allegations of abuse against women in Iranian prisons in recent years, added: “While awaiting her release, the authorities must protect her from torture and other ill-treatment and guarantee access to his family and lawyer. »

He added that “the allegations of beatings and sexual violence made against her during her arrest require independent and impartial investigations.”

Iran’s conservative Fars news agency confirmed the incident in a report, publishing a very blurry photo of the student.

The student had worn “inappropriate clothing” to class and “stripped naked” after being warned by security guards to comply with the dress code.

Citing “witnesses”, he said the security officers spoke “calmly” with the student and denied reports that their action was aggressive.

Near-nationwide protests erupted in 2022 following the death in custody of Mahsa Aminian Iranian Kurdish woman who had been arrested for alleged dress code violations.

The protests, which saw women break taboos by removing their headscarves and sometimes even burning them, calmed in the face of a crackdown that left 551 dead and thousands of arrests.

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“We must not leave ourselves alone,” Katayoun Riahi, an actress who supported the protests, wrote in an Instagram post expressing support for the student.

Hossein Ronaghi, a prominent Iranian activist imprisoned during the protests, praised the student’s “courage” in an article on X and described her action as a “heartfelt cry against the oppression that took her life “. people, especially women. »

(AFP)