The grave of Mahsa Amini has been vandalised, according to the family’s lawyer and activists

According to the family’s lawyer and activists, the grave of Mahsa Amini, the young woman in Iran whose death triggered nationwide protests, has been vandalized. Mahsa Amini, aged 22, was detained by Iran’s morality police for not adhering to the dress code and died while in police custody last year.

The protests, which erupted following her death, spread across Iran and persisted for several months. In some instances, protesters even called for the overthrow of Iran’s clerical regime, which has governed the country since the 1979 revolution. Although the protests have subsided in recent months, they have not completely ceased.

Amini, who was visiting Tehran with her family, was buried in her hometown of Saqez in Iran’s Kurdistan province. Activists claim that the authorities are determined to prevent any public gathering around her grave.

The France-based Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported that the grave was attacked on the morning of May 21. Social media images, allegedly from Mahsa’s brother Ashkan’s Instagram account, showed that the glass protecting a portrait of Amini at the head of the tomb had been shattered.

In a statement published by KHRN, the family’s lawyer, Saleh Nikbakht, said, “Sadly, on Sunday morning, people who are already known to us, and who have done the same things in the past, attacked the grave of Zhina Mahsa Amini.” The identity of these individuals was not specified. However, the lawyer mentioned that the authorities had previously intervened to prevent the construction of a protective canopy over the grave.

In his social media post, Ashkan Amini responded, “So the glass of your tombstone also bothers them? Let them break it a thousand times, we will make it again, let’s see who gets tired.”

Family and supporters of Mahsa Amini allege that she was killed by a blow to the head while in police custody. Authorities claim that she died of a heart attack resulting from pre-existing health issues.

Activists accuse the authorities of suppressing the protests through a crackdown that has resulted in over 500 deaths, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights. Iran has also executed seven men in connection with protest-related cases, a move criticized by campaigners as a deliberate strategy to instill fear through capital punishment.

Amnesty International has warned that seven more men are at risk of execution in relation to the protests.