A video of anti-riot forces sexually assaulting a protester while trying to arrest her in broad daylight has sparked fury on social media.
Users on Twitter and Instagram expressed outrage, many demanding “justice”. Pro-government users also condemned the perpetrators.
Despite the blocking of some social media tools, Iranians still manage to share powerful images of the protests.
The country is being rocked by the most violent unrest in decades.
The protests erupted last month as anger boiled over the death of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini in police custody. Officials say she died from an underlying medical condition, but her family says she died after being beaten by morality police.
Numerous videos of the protest have gone viral both inside and outside Iran. This latest video, seen Wednesday in Tehran’s Argentine Square, shows a group of officers in riot gear and helmets surrounding a woman on a main street.
One of them grabs her by the neck and leads her into a crowd of about two dozen police officers, many of whom are on motorcycles.
As the woman is herded to one of the bicycles, another officer approaches her from behind and puts his left hand on her bottom.
The woman then squats on the ground as more officers surround her. A woman’s voice can be heard off camera saying, “They’re pulling her hair.”
Drivers in vehicles next to where it’s happening begin to honk their horns, a form of protest in similar situations seen across the country in recent days.
The woman, who does not appear to be wearing a hijab or headscarf, is then seen getting up and running from the scene.
At this point, the same voice in the clip is heard saying, “Look at him [the security force officer]he laughs”.
The footage has been verified by the BBC’s Persian service.
The PR bureau of Tehran police said it was investigating the incident, state-run IRNA news agency reported.
The police statement does not provide details of what happened, but says that “enemies have attempted to use psychological warfare to incite public fear and incite violence.”
The fact that the incident took place in public has prompted human rights activists to wonder what security forces might be doing behind closed doors.
“Have you brought the harassment of the girls of this country out [your] jails to the open streets to scream [at us] your profanity, horniness and filth in public?” posted a social media user named Atefeh.
Abuse, including sexual and psychological abuse, has been reported by many inmates, particularly political prisoners, for years.
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