Iranian Embassy in Dublin defaced with graffiti overnight

Sarah Slater

The Iranian Embassy in Dublin has been defaced with graffiti in protest over a decades long law requiring women to cover their hair with a headscarf.

Ongoing unrest and demonstrations in Iran were sparked following the death of the Kurdish-Iranian 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16 in police custody in Tehran.

Ms Aminni was detained by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi’s special morality police, for allegedly violating the law requiring women to cover their hair as her headscarf was being loosely worn. She died three days later in custody.

Overnight, the largest white entrance pillars into the Iranian Embassy, located on Merrion Road, Blackrock, Dublin were defaced with graffiti.

The walls were covered with the imprints of red hands along with words including dictator and witches.

Security personnel and officials could be seen this morning at 9.30am cleaning off and painting over the graffiti strewn walls.

Embassy official and Iranian Ambassador to Ireland Masoud Eslami were contacted for comment.

Gardaí have said they are aware of the incident and are investigating.

State officials claim the young woman died from suffering a heart attack however her family have said the 22-year-old died after being beaten by police.

Ms Amini’s death has become the catalyst for many Iranians who have been testing the limits of Sharia law for years.

Protests have erupted in more than 80 cities across Iran since Ms Amini’s death and sporadic outbursts continue with women burning hijabs, cutting their hair, daubing their faces with the imprint of a red hand and burning State buildings.