Hundreds march in solidarity with Iranians protesting woman's death in police custody

Hundreds of people marched through the streets of Halifax on Saturday in response to the death of an Iranian woman who was detained for allegedly violating the country's forced veiling laws.

The demonstration, led by the Iranian Cultural Society of Nova Scotia, started in Victoria Park and ended on Sackville Landing.

People chanted and carried signs calling for justice in the death of Mahsa Amini.

“All they want are humanitarian rights,” said Iranian-Canadian Siavesh Farrahi. “We want women’s rights. So that’s all we want, and we need the Canadian peoples' support.”

Iran's morality police arrested Amini in the country's capital, Tehran, last month for allegedly wearing her Islamic headscarf too loosely. Iranian women are required to wear hijabs in public.

Amini later died in custody, and while police say the 22-year-old suffered a heart attack and wasn’t mistreated, her family has doubted this account.

Iranians across their country have since protested on the streets and confronted police, with videos on social media showing women removing and burning their veils. Some women have also cut their hair in protest.

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Canada would be imposing new sanctions on Iran as a result of a continuing violent crackdown on protesters.

The sanctions will be levelled on "dozens of individuals and entities, including Iran's so-called morality police," the prime minister said.

It’s a move some at the Halifax rally said they were in favour of.

“We appreciate the recent movement by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – we want a stronger commitment,” said Iranian-Canadian Nargess Kayhani. “We want to make sure that Canada stops these elements, these brutal elements of [the] Iranian regime.”

According to a Sept. 24 tally by The Associated Press, at least 11 people have been killed since the protests began. Iranian state media has said the toll could be as high as 35.

With files from CTVNews.ca and The Associated Press