One of Iran’s hardline conservatives has slammed officials for apologizing for Mahsa Amini’s death in custody of hijab police.
In an interview on state TV, Mohammad Sadegh Koushki, a Tehran University professor, said apologies for Amini’s highly publicized death are an "incorrect move."
Koushki said, "What prompts the need for apologies? [The death of Mahsa Amini] was an unintended outcome. It is indeed the subsequent apologies of certain high-ranking figures that have inadvertently exacerbated the situation."
He added that fatalities to detainees during detention and interrogation are inherently "very natural."
Currently, no officials from the Islamic Republic have formally extended apologies for Mahsa Amini's death or for the loss of numerous other lives even in the wake of nationwide protests.
During a televised interview, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of the Parliament, indicated that he had formally requested an apology from the law enforcement forces. However, no formal apology has been issued to date.
In a conversation with Mahsa Amini's family, President Ebrahim Raisi, abstained from issuing an apology. Instead, he committed to clarifying the full "dimensions" of the circumstances surrounding Amini's death—an assurance that, as of the present date, remains unfulfilled.
Mahsa Amini's death in custody was not an isolated incident. Sattar Beheshti, an outspoken blogger, and Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photographer, and many others, also lost their lives as a result of aggressive interrogations carried out by agents of the Islamic Republic. The true number of deaths has not been not officially recorded.