![Fahimeh Maanavi of Minneapolis chanted along with fellow protesters during a gathering in support of a nationwide uprising against tyranny in Iran and to condemn the killing of Mahsa Aminini by 'morality police' Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022 in downtown Minneapolis. ] ANTHONY SOUFFLE • anthony.souffle@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/ATDLYJTXC53PDH57DMDBWJ2GOE.jpg?&w=1080)
About 80 people demonstrated Saturday in downtown Minneapolis to support Mahsa Amini and the tens of thousands of Iranians protesting the young woman's death.
Amini, 22, died Sept. 16 in Tehran while in custody of Iran's morality police. She had been arrested for violating the country's strict rules on wearing the hijab, a head covering for women.
Protests have broken out in 80 Iranian cities; at least 50 people have been killed by security forces, and prominent human rights activists and journalists have been arrested, the New York Times reported.
On the corner of 9th Street and Nicollet Mall, Iranian-Americans and others rallied on an overcast afternoon, some carrying signs saying "Remember her name: Mahsa Amini."
They called for freedom in Iran – and particularly for Iranian women.
"Women in Iran basically want the right to decide whether to cover their head or not – they are against being forced to," said Peggy, a 36-year-old Minneapolis resident who immigrated from Iran 12 years ago. "A 22-year-old should not be dead because of this."
She declined to give her last name, saying she fears for her relatives in Iran.
The protests sweeping Iran are the largest since 2009 when then-President Mahmoud Amadinejad was re-elected in an election tainted with voting irregularities.
