Sari

Women in Iran continued to protest sparked by the death in custody of a woman detained for breaking hijab laws.

Activists said a woman was among three protesters shot dead by security forces in Urmia, Piranshahr and Kermanshah.

The authorities accused protesters of killing two civilians in Kermanshah as well as a police assistant in Shiraz.

At least seven people are now reported to have been killed since the protests against the hijab laws and morality police erupted after Mahsa Amini's death.

The 22-year-old Kurdish woman from the north-western city of Saqez died in hospital on Friday, after being in coma for three days.

She was with her brother in Tehran when she was arrested by morality police, who accused her of breaking the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf, and their arms and legs with loose clothing. She fell into coma shortly after collapsing at a detention centre.

There were reports that police hit Amini on the head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles.

The police have denied that she was mistreated and said she suffered "sudden heart failure". But her family has said she was fit and healthy.

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According to Iranian state media, an aide to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei paid a visit to Amini's family on Monday and told them that "all institutions will take action to defend the rights that were violated."