Iran fans boo their own national anthem amid protests in the country

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By stefan armitage

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During their World Cup match against Wales, Iranian fans could be heard and seen booing their own national anthem.

As players for Iran started to sing their national anthem prior to Friday morning's game, boos and whistles erupted throughout the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium.

The Metro and several other outlets report that the boos were a "powerful statement" regarding the protests currently taking place in the nation - which were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

READ MORE: How Mahsa Amini became a symbol of resistance in Iran

Videos of the defiant moment were quickly shared across social media, with ESPN's Mark Ogden tweeting: "Iran fans booing and whistling their own national anthem. Big statement being made there."

As reported by CNN, this comes as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Chief Volker Turk has stated that a "full-fledged" is crisis underway in Iran amid the ongoing crackdown on protesters.

Amini, a Kurdish Iranian woman, was detained by the country's morality police back in September for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.

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Mahsa Amini. Credit: ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy

According to her family, witnesses saw Amini being beaten by police in the patrol van, causing lasting damage that would have rendered her brain dead and in a coma. Though, officials have alleged Amini had epilepsy, diabetes, and suffered a heart attack, Al Jazeera reported.

Her family has strongly refuted this claim, stating that she was in perfect health.

News of Amini's death angered women across the globe, and resulted in hundreds of protests erupting across Iran. Some Iranian women have even resorted to burning their hijabs and cutting their hair as a symbol of solidarity with Amini.

And as Iran attempts to crack down on the civil unrest, a recent CNN investigation has accused the country of violating human rights laws within its detention centers.

As a result of the allegations, UN chief Turk has called for an "independent, impartial, and transparent investigative processes" into Iran's detention measures while speaking at the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday.

Featured image credit: PA Images / Alamy