Italy's foreign ministry has tweeted condolences for the family of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Masha Amini, who died in the custody of Iran's morality police after her arrest last week, calling her treatment "a cowardly act".
"Deep sorrow for the death of Masha Amini in Tehran. We are close to her family in this moment of grief and hope that perpetrators of this cowardly act will be identified and held to account," read the tweet.
"Violence against innocent people, especially women and girls, can never be tolerated," the tweet added.
Amini was detained on Friday for allegedly failing to wear her hijab and her trousers correctly. Her death has triggered furious protests on Iran's streets and local petitions calling for the morality police to be disbanded.
Iran's government is set to argue that Amini died in police custody due to a pre-existing brain condition rather than having been beaten.
