Hijab crackdown: Anger in Iran after video of police sexually harassing woman protestor goes viral

A fresh wave of anger has gripped Iran after a video of police sexually harassing a woman protester surfaced on social media.

In a video posted by BBC Persian, a member of Iran’s riot police was filmed trying to arrest a woman in Tehran’s Argentina Square when he approached her from behind and touched her inappropriately.

Iran has been rocked by protests by angry women and students after 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish Mahsa Amini died in custody after she was arrested by the ‘morality police’ for allegedly improperly wearing a headscarf.

“Hypocrisy of religious extremists of any hue or color is the same everywhere! Iranian security forces women to cover their heads but have no shame in sexually assaulting a woman! Such bigotry in the 21st century,” law professor Ila Sharma tweeted.

“As if being beaten to death over showing a strand of hair in public like #MahsaAmini wasn’t enough, Iranian women now have to worry about the Islamic regime’s terrorist forces SEXUALLY ASSAULTING them in DAYLIGHT!!! ENOUGH!,” an activist with the username @Azadi580 wrote.

The incident is being investigated, state news agency IRNA reported Tehran’s Police Public Relations office as saying.

However, an Associated Press tally of reports in state-run and state-linked media shows there have been at least 1,900 arrests connected to the protests. Demonstrations have been reported in at least 50 Iranian cities, towns and villages.