Iran: Irish rockers U2 come out in solidarity with Mahsa Amini protesters

Irish rock band U2 came out in solidarity on Wednesday with Iranians protesting the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini and demanding an end to political and social restrictions.

The band's official Instagram account posted a photo of Amini, a Kurdish-Iranian woman who died in police custody last month.

U2 included in the post a poem by Saadi Shirazi, a 13th-century Persian poet, called "Bani Adam", or "Sons of Adam" – referring to human beings.

The poem reads in part: "If you have no sympathy for human pain,

"The name of human you shall not retain."

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by U2 (@u2)

U2 included hashtags such as #iranprotests and #WomanLifeFreedom, the latter the English translation of a Kurdish-language slogan used at protests that followed Amini's death.

Many Instagram users expressed appreciation for the band's post.

"Thank youuu so much for your support. This means a lot to us," one user wrote.

Amini, whose Kurdish name can be spelled "Zhina" or "Jina", died in police custody on 16 September.

She was arrested in Tehran by the morality police on 13 September for allegedly not wearing her hijab 'correctly'.

Amini went into a coma in detention and died at a hospital in the Iranian capital.

The authorities, who are accused of beating her, maintain she died from natural causes.

Amini's death has prompted widespread outrage, with demonstrations sweeping Iran.

Protests have also been held in Iraqi Kurdistan's capital Erbil and Western cities like London and Rome.