Protests over death of Mahsa Amini continue across Iran

By Haydar Sahin

TEHRAN, Iran (AA) - Mass protests over the death of young Iranian woman Mahsa Amini in police custody continued on Friday across the country, including universities.

A group of people gathered in the Chitger area of the capital Tehran and chanted anti-government slogans, while women danced and clapped in a park, social media footage showed.

Protesters in the western city of Sanandaj, as well as in Urmia and Bukan furthern north, took to streets and lit fires.

More footage reported shot in Merivan city showed protesters setting burning car tires on a road, while gunshots were also heard.

Clashes between demonstrators and security forces were reported in the city of Mahabad, where the situation was tense on Thursday.

A group of protesters marched through the streets in Arak city, chanting anti-government slogans.

Meanwhile, students at Pars University in Tehran staged a protest over the detention of their classmates.

Mahsa Amini, 22, died in mysterious circumstances last month after being detained by the country's morality police for wearing "inappropriate dress."

Angry protests which first broke out in Sanandaj in western Iran later spread across the country.

Wednesday marked 40 days since her death and saw fresh protests in several cities, including the capital Tehran, amid heavy deployments of police on the streets.

Amini's death sent shockwaves across the world, with many Western governments issuing strongly-worded statements of condemnation which were not well-received by the Iranian government.