Iranian woman whose death led to mass protests was shy and avoided politics

FILE PHOTO: A woman holds a placard during a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in front of the United Nations headquarters in Erbil, Iraq September 24, 2022. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

DUBAI (Reuters) - The young Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, whose death in police custody triggered nationwide protests, was a shy, reserved resident of a small town who never challenged the country's clerical rulers or its Islamic dress code, sources close to the family said.

Amini, from the northwestern Kurdish city of Saqez, died three days after she was arrested in hospital after falling into a coma. It sparked the first big show of opposition on Iran's streets since authorities crushed fuel price protests in 2019 in which 1,500 people were killed.