Italy’s Meloni praises ‘heroic uprising’ of Iranian women

Giorgia Meloni, set to become Italy’s first female prime minister, hailed on Wednesday “the heroic uprising of Iranian women” following the death of a young woman in police custody.

The tweet was one of Meloni’s first statements since her nationalist Brothers of Italy party won a parliamentary election on Sunday, propelling her conservative alliance to power and opening the way for her to become prime minister.

“All my sympathy to the brave women who are fighting in Iran and around the world to defend their rights and freedom,” Meloni wrote. “Dozens are dead and hundreds of activists, lawyers and journalists arrested.”

Protests are currently on day 13 in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who died in custody following her arrest on September 13 in Tehran for “unsuitable attire” by the morality police who are tasked with enforcing the Islamic Republic’s rigorous dress code.

Image Credit: AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia