Christiane Amanpour, veteran Cable News Network (CNN) journalist, has cancelled an interview with the President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, after the president demanded she wear a headscarf for their meeting in the city of New York, United States (US).
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| Cable News Network (CNN) Journalist Christiane Amanpour. Photo: @camanpour |
No previous president has requested this when she interviewed them outside Iran, Amanpour said.
She revealed a Raisi aide disclosed to her that it was as a result of the “situation in Iran”.
The demise of a woman detained in Iran for allegedly breaching headscarf rules has ignited violent unrest there.
Christiane Amanpour – “I planned to ask President Raisi about all this…” ⬇️
Protests are sweeping Iran & women are burning their hijabs after the death last week of Mahsa Amini, following her arrest by the “morality police”. Human rights groups say at least 8 have been killed. Last night, I planned to ask President Raisi about all this and much more. 1/7
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) September 22, 2022
According to BBC:
Mahsa Amini, 22, fell into a coma last week, hours after morality police arrested her.
Officers reportedly beat Ms Amini’s head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles. The police have said there is no evidence of any mistreatment and that she suffered “sudden heart failure”.
The protests, now in their seventh day, have reached 80 other cities and towns in the Islamic Republic. At least 17 people have been killed.
Mr Raisi was elected last year and signed an order in August to enforce a new list of restrictions.
These included the introduction of surveillance cameras to monitor and fine unveiled women or refer them for “counselling”, and a mandatory prison sentence for any Iranian who questioned or posted content against the hijab (headscarf) rules online.
The restrictions led to an increase in arrests but also sparked a surge in women posting photos and videos of themselves without headscarves on social media – something that has only intensified in the days following Ms Amini’s death.
The interview would have been Mr Raisi’s first right in the United States (US), during his visit to the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.
Amanpour revealed she had been ready to conduct the interview when one of the President’s aides, at Mr Raisi’s request insisted she covered her hair.
She later said: “We are in New York, where there is no law or tradition regarding headscarves.”
According to Amanpour, Mr Raisi’s aide has made it clear, if she did not wear a headscarf an interview would not take place, saying it was a “matter of respect”. This made her team withdraw from the interview rejecting what she termed the “unprecedented and unexpected condition”.
A photo was posted later by Amanpour of herself without a headscarf in front of an empty chair where Mr Raisi would have sat for the interview.
Christiane Amanpour – “we walked away. The interview didn’t happen.” ⬇️
And so we walked away. The interview didn’t happen. As protests continue in Iran and people are being killed, it would have been an important moment to speak with President Raisi. 7/7 pic.twitter.com/kMFyQY99Zh
— Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) September 22, 2022
