“Mahsa Jina Amini” Street Plaques Unveiled in Ottawa

Officials in the Canadian capital have unveiled “Mahsa Jina Amini” street plaques to honor the memory of the young Iranian woman whose death in police custody in September last year sparked months-long anti-government protests.

The plaques were unveiled on June 20 on Metcalfe Street, where the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran was located before its closure 10 years ago.

The ceremony was attended by Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, city councilors Teresa Kavanagh and Ariel Troster, and members of the Canadian-Iranian community.

The September 2022 death of 22-year-old Amini, soon after she was arrested by morality police for allegedly violating the country’s hijab law, triggered months of nationwide protests demanding fundamental economic, social and political changes.

Iranian security forces unleashed a brutal clampdown on the women-led protest movement, killing more than 520 people during demonstrations and unlawfully detaining over 20,000 others, activists say. 

Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.

Canada closed its embassy in Tehran in 2012 and expelled Iranian diplomats from Canada, citing concerns over the safety of Canadian diplomats in Iran and the Islamic Republic’s support for terrorist organizations. In response, Iranian authorities closed the Iranian embassy in Ottawa and expelled Canadian diplomats from Iran.