Mahsa Amini is a young Iranian woman whose case has been exploited by several Western media outlets in order to further promote Iranophobia by fabricating lies and making use of her medical condition that led to her death merely for political purposes.

Mainstream and social media outlets were swarmed with trumped-up news, as some media outlets, mostly Western, claimed that an alleged brutal arrest led to the death of Amini. 

The story as it is

Al Mayadeen decided to investigate the topic and get to the bottom of the story. After contacting several official sources in Iran, Al Mayadeen learned that Amini was never assaulted, beaten, or abused, and the proof was CCTV footage that slammed western reports as fake and fabricated.

The incident, recorded by the CCTV, shows a female police officer approaching Amini and pointing at her hijab. Amini and the officer entered into a verbal disagreement, after which the officer turned around and left Amini alone. 

At this point, and without any physical altercation taking place between the two - contrary to western media reports which claimed that Amini was brutally beaten - Amini fainted and it was later reported that she fell into a coma. The police officer can be seen rushing to support Amini to prevent her from falling. Amini was then transferred to the hospital for treatment. 

The video shows that there was no violence and no beating whatsoever and that not even an arrest was made. Official sources told Al Mayadeen that Amini had a brain tumor and that she has been undergoing treatment for some time prior to the incident. Medical records confirm Amini's multiple visits to the hospital for treatment.

In this context, and despite the overwhelming proof that refutes the western media's claims, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi refused to remain silent and ordered the Minister of Interior in Iran to launch an investigation with urgency and accuracy into the incident and to submit a full report of the results. 

The West takes advantage of the death of a 22-year-old

The New York Times wrote about "the death on Friday of a 22-year-old woman in Iran after she was detained by the morality police," claiming that "morality police units arbitrarily enforce the rules, and their tactics range from verbal notices to monetary fines, to violently dragging women into vans for detention."

In a similar tone, France 24 wrote, "A young Iranian woman is in a coma and fighting for her life after being arrested in Tehran by the Islamic republic's morality police."

The Guardian, MondAfrique, The World Today, and many others have also adopted that rhetoric and rushed to announce her death all for the sake of targeting Iran's internal policies without awaiting any response from the police or official authorities or even the results of the investigation.

The US Envoy to Iran Robert Malley also took the chance and joined the anti-Iran campaign, which is based on false news, and raced to condemn the internal Iranian laws in a Tweet:

Mahsa Amini’s death after injuries sustained in custody for an “improper” hijab is appalling. Our thoughts are with her family. Iran must end its violence against women for exercising their fundamental rights. Those responsible for her death should be held accountable #مهسا_امینی

— Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley (@USEnvoyIran) September 16, 2022

Propagating Iranophobia, which is a main course on the western agenda, is not new. Only this time, unfortunately, the West has gone as far as exploiting the death of an innocent woman all for the sake of politicizing the incident and pushing further their anti-Iran propaganda, completely turning a blind eye to the truth.