TikToker Hadis Najafi killed in Iran protests

Social media influencer Hadis Najafi has been shot dead during protests in Iran.

Protests have been taking place across Iran after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini passed away on 16 September. Amini was taken into custody by the Iranian government three days before for allegedly not wearing her hijab (headscarf) correctly.

Amini is said to have died of a heart attack, however, she had no history of heart disease according to her uncle and eyewitnesses claimed the 22-year-old was beaten while inside a police van.

Amid the unrest which has since been sparked across the country, many Iranian women have been taking to the streets to burn their headscarves in protest.

TikToker Hadis Najafi was one of these women and went out in Karaj last week to protest. However, she was later shot dead.

On her way to protest against Iran's strict mandate on hijab-wearing, Najafi sent a video to friends where she spoke out about her hopes for everything 'changing' in the future.

She was shot dead less than an hour later.

One of the TikToker's friends - who does not wish to be named due to safety concerns - told Sky News Najafi was 'shot many times by the Iranian police'.

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Her friend believes Najafi was shot 'because of her hijab and defending the hijab and women's right to freedom in veiling'.

Najafi's friend also alleged authorities 'didn't let her family see her'.

"Several nurses [...] told her family to run, because Hadis had been at the protests so they might also be targeted if the police came," she said.

"The husband of one of Hadis' sisters works for the Basij [an Iranian paramilitary volunteer militia], so they let him go into the mortuary to do the formal identification. Only him."

According to Najafi's friend, the TikToker's 'crying mother and sisters' were allowed to see her face on Friday morning, but only to 'make sure they were burying the right person'.

Najafi's mother stated: "My daughter was killed because of the hijab, because of Mahsa Amini.

"She went to protest and was killed, hit by bullets, in her heart, in her stomach, in her neck. When we looked at her body, her face and body were bruised," Najafi's mother said via the TikToker's sister's Instagram.

Najafi's mother also claimed authorities 'shouted slurs' at them, and 'refused to tell [them] where to find her body' or 'give [them] her body'.

Najafi wasn't allowed a public - or 'real' as her friend put it - funeral because of an agreement between the authorities and her family.

Her friend said: "After she was buried, her sisters Afsoon and Shirin decided to publish her photos and tell people she was shot.

"The authorities didn't want people to say she was shot, they were told to say she'd died in a car crash, or a brain injury, that she'd died a natural death."

Despite the accusations against Iranian authorities, Ebrahim Raisi, the president of the Middle Eastern country, has said an investigation will take place into the TikToker's death.

However, the Iranian president warned that action will be taken against anyone who threatens the country's public security.

Najafi is one of an alleged four women who have died during the protests in Iran.

The TikToker's friend concluded: "I and her family and friends would like everyone to hear the name of Hadis and know that my friend went bravely and became a martyr."

If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677