People attend a protest in Tehran over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the country's "morality police," Sept. 21, 2022. (CWANA via REUTERS)
DUBAI — Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards called on the judiciary to prosecute "those who spread false news and rumors," in a statement published on Thursday as tensions mount over the death of a woman in police custody.
"We expressed sympathy with the family and relatives of the late Mahsa Amini, and we have requested the judiciary to identify those who spread false news and rumors on social media as well as on the street and who endanger the psychological safety of society and to deal with them decisively," the Guards said.
Mahsa Amini, 22, died last week after being arrested for wearing "unsuitable attire" by the morality police in Tehran. She fell into a coma while in detention. The authorities have said they would launch an investigation into the cause of death.
Amini's death unleashed widespread popular anger and the largest protests in Iran since 2019. Most have been concentrated in Iran's Kurdish-populated northwestern regions but have spread to the capital and at least 50 cities and towns nationwide, with police using force to disperse protesters.
Reporting by Dubai Newsroom.