Police Commander: Mahsa Amini's film cannot be released in full "due to its length"

Following the confirmation by the Deputy Minister of Interior that the released video of Mahsa Amini in the Tehran Moral Security Police detention center was "cut", the commander of the Tehran Police Force also confirmed that the video was infringing.

Hossein Rahimi, commander of the Greater Tehran Police Force, said on Monday in a special press conference on the death of Mahsa Amini: "The film is half an hour long and it is not possible to publish it in full due to the long time."

Mahsa Amini, who had traveled to Tehran from Saqqez with her family, died on Friday, September 15, three days after being arrested by Ershad patrol officers at Kasra Hospital in Tehran. Her body was buried in Saqqez on Saturday amid public protests.

According to Kasra Hospital, when the 22-year-old was transferred to the hospital, his vital signs were not visible.

However, the police, by providing a film to state media, claimed that Ms. Amini was not mistreated in the detention center.

However, many media outlets, civil society activists, and Amini's family emphasized that the released footage was "truncated" and it is unclear what happened to the 22-year-old during the time that was removed from the film.

Mahsa Amini's father also said: "The film they showed from the detention center was also cut."

Masoumeh Ebtekar, former presidential advisor on women and family, also told the Iran Watch website on the same day: "This film has been cut and its release has raised questions."

On Monday, the commander of the Tehran Police Force, despite trying not to call the deletions from the film "cuts," admitted to deleting part of it and said that the "complete footage" from the CCTV cameras had been shown to Amini's family.

The Tehran Police Chief also responded to the question of whether Mahsa Amini was dressed like the one she wore in the CCTV footage of the police headquarters when she was arrested, saying: "No. The Ershad patrol officers are equipped with body cameras, but in this case they did not have cameras."

Previously, Majid Mirahmadi, Deputy Minister of Interior for Security and Law Enforcement, confirmed in an interview with Fars News Agency that Mahsa Amini's film had been "cut."

He also said that "the reason this film was cut is because it is a bit long."

The government official also claims that the "cut-off parts are unimportant" and that "there are no important scenes in the full film other than what has been reported."

While the Islamic Republic's security officials continue to refuse to publicly release the full video of Mahsa Amini's presence in the police detention center, citing various justifications, the mere confirmation that the released video is infringing is an important step for the investigation and legal action in the case of this young woman's death.

Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, the head of the Islamic Republic's judiciary, promised on Monday that Mahsa Amini's case would be pursued "swiftly and carefully."

He said he had ordered the Tehran prosecutor to "examine all public and private cameras in high-traffic areas."

Previously, state media, as well as Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, have denied any "beating" or "torture" of Mahsa Amini in the detention center, but this is not the first time that a detainee has died in the Islamic Republic's detention centers due to mistreatment by officers.

The deaths of Zahra Kazemi, an Iranian-Canadian photographer, and Sattar Beheshti, a blogger, are well-known cases in this regard.

Also, in recent days, the Islamic Republic has not allowed an independent investigation into the death of Mahsa Amini, and shortly after the Kasra Hospital published its announcement, it forced the hospital to remove its announcement from its Instagram page.

Also last year, a group called "Justice Ali" hacked into Evin Prison's security cameras and released images of violent mistreatment of prisoners for the first time.

After the release of these images, the head of the Islamic Republic's judiciary promised to investigate the way prison guards treated prisoners in Evin Prison, but since then there has been no news of the outcome of this investigation.

Source: Radio Farda