The Treasury and State Departments announced sanctions Thursday against Iran's morality police and seven senior security officials following the death of a young Iranian woman who was detained for wearing a hijab improperly.
The sanctions follow days of violent protests in Iran and what the State Department called the "tragic and brutal death" of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, who was arrested on Sept. 13.
"We have sanctioned Iran's Morality Police, the entity responsible for the arrest and death of Mahsa Amini, and designated seven other Iranian security officials responsible for suppressing non-violent protests," Secretary of State Antony Blinken tweeted Thursday.
Amini died Friday at Kasra Hospital in northern Tehran after slipping into a coma. The morality police were accused of torturing and beating her after hospital officials said Amini died from severe brain trauma caused by "multiple blows to the head." Iranian officials deny the charges, claiming she died of a heart attack.
