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Death of Mahsa Amini

On 16 September 2022, 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini, died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances.

Place
Tehran, Iran
Date
16 Sep 2022
Status
Investigation closedThe investigating authority has ended its active investigation. This does not necessarily mean a court resolved the case.
Sources
2 cited sources

Updated 23 Aug 2026

Overview

Case overview

On 16 September 2022, 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini, died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances. The Guidance Patrol, the religious morality police of Iran's government, had arrested Amini for allegedly not wearing the hijab in accordance with government standards. [1]

The Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran stated that she had a heart attack at a police station, collapsed, and fell into a coma before being transferred to a hospital. However, eyewitnesses, including women who were detained with Amini, reported that she was severely beaten and that she died as a result of police brutality, which was denied by the Iranian authorities. [2]

MEPs have awarded the 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced the 2023 laureate in the Strasbourg plenary chamber on Thursday, following a decision by Parliament’s Conference of Presidents (President Metsola and political groups’ leaders). President Metsola declared: ʺOn 16 September we marked one year since the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini in Iran. The European Parliament proudly stands with the brave and defiant who continue to fight for equality, dignity and freedom in Iran. We stand with those who, even from prison, continue to keep Women, Life and Freedom alive. By choosing them as laureates for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2023, this House remembers their struggle and continues to honour all those who have paid the ultimate price for liberty.ʺ Jina Mahsa Amini was a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman. She was arrested by police in Tehran on 13 September 2022 for allegedly ignoring Iran’s strict veiling laws, and died in a Tehran hospital three days later following physical abuse while in custody. Her death sparked massive women-led protests in Iran. Under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”, they have been protesting against the hijab law and other discriminatory laws. Following the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on these protests, the European Parliament has repeatedly condemned the dire human rights situation in the country. In October 2022, MEPs called for sanctions against Iranian officials involved in both Jina Mahsa Amini’s death and the regime’s repression, and expressed their strong support for the peaceful protest movement in Iran. In January 2023, MEPs demanded more sanctions against the Iranian regime and for the EU to place the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on its terrorist list. Read more: ____ This photo is free to use under Creative Commons license CC-BY-4.0 and must be credited: "CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2023 – Source: EP".
MEPs have awarded the 2023 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to Jina Mahsa Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced the 2023 laureate in the Strasbourg plenary chamber on Thursday, following a decision by Parliament’s Conference of Presidents (President Metsola and political groups’ leaders). President Metsola declared: ʺOn 16 September we marked one year since the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini in Iran. The European Parliament proudly stands with the brave and defiant who continue to fight for equality, dignity and freedom in Iran. We stand with those who, even from prison, continue to keep Women, Life and Freedom alive. By choosing them as laureates for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2023, this House remembers their struggle and continues to honour all those who have paid the ultimate price for liberty.ʺ Jina Mahsa Amini was a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman. She was arrested by police in Tehran on 13 September 2022 for allegedly ignoring Iran’s strict veiling laws, and died in a Tehran hospital three days later following physical abuse while in custody. Her death sparked massive women-led protests in Iran. Under the slogan “Woman, Life, Freedom”, they have been protesting against the hijab law and other discriminatory laws. Following the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on these protests, the European Parliament has repeatedly condemned the dire human rights situation in the country. In October 2022, MEPs called for sanctions against Iranian officials involved in both Jina Mahsa Amini’s death and the regime’s repression, and expressed their strong support for the peaceful protest movement in Iran. In January 2023, MEPs demanded more sanctions against the Iranian regime and for the EU to place the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on its terrorist list. Read more: ____ This photo is free to use under Creative Commons license CC-BY-4.0 and must be credited: "CC-BY-4.0: © European Union 2023 – Source: EP".European Parliament · CC BY 2.0 · View original ↗
Detailed chronology

Key events

6 sourced milestones

Major events in the case, shown in chronological order.

  1. The central incident occurs

    Amini's death resulted in a series of protests described by CNN as more widespread than the protests in 2009, 2017, and 2019, and by The New York Times as the largest Iranian protests since at least 2009.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  2. A central event is documented

    According to Iran International, on 29 September an audio file was released by a former commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, which reported unnamed "reliable sources" saying that the reason for Mahsa Amini's death was an injury to her skull and that the injury was the result of a severe beating.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  3. A 7 October coroner's report stated that Amini's death

    A 7 October coroner's report stated that Amini's death was "not caused by blows to the head and limbs" and instead linked her death to pre-existing medical conditions, ruling that she had died from multiple organ failure caused by cerebral hypoxia.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  4. Authorities make an arrest

    Amini had come to Tehran to visit her brother and on 13 September 2022 was arrested by the Guidance Patrol at the entry of the Shahid Haghani Expressway in Tehran while in the company of her family.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  5. A central event is documented

    On 16 September 2022, 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini, died in a hospital in Tehran, Iran, under suspicious circumstances.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗

  6. A UN inquiry reports its findings

    A United Nations fact-finding mission concluded that Mahsa Amini’s death was unlawful and that Iranian authorities were responsible for physical violence in custody, contradicting Iran’s official medical account.

    Source: Wikipedia ↗
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