Concern grows for Iranian woman detained after hijab protest

PARIS: Concern grew on Friday over the fate of a young Iranian who protested on a bus against the obligatory headscarf for women, following reports that she had been subjected to a forced televised confession and hospitalised.

Sepideh Rashno, 28, disappeared in mid-July after becoming involved with a dispute on a Tehran bus with another woman who accused her of removing her headscarf. She filmed the altercation, which went viral on social media. Activists say she was arrested, although for at least two weeks there was no information over her whereabouts, spawning a viral hashtag "#sepideh_kojast" (where is Sepideh?).