IRANIAN authorities banned members of the late Mahsa Amini’s family from travelling to receive the European Union’s top human rights prize on her behalf, a civil rights monitor reported. 

Ms Amini's death while in police custody in 2022 sparked nationwide protests that rocked the Islamic Republic.

The United States-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said late on Saturday that authorities have refused to allow Ms Amini’s father, Amjad, and two of her brothers to fly out to Strasbourg, France, to receive the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.

Reports said that only the family’s lawyer Saleh Nikbakht would be able to travel to receive the award on their behalf.

The EU award, named for Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov, was created in 1988 to honour individuals or groups who defend human rights and fundamental freedoms. 

Earlier in September, Ms Amini was granted the prize.

The 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman died after Iran’s morality police arrested her for allegedly violating the country’s strict headscarf law that forced women to cover their hair and entire body. 

Her death led to massive protests that quickly escalated into calls to overthrow Iran’s clerical rulers.

Authorities immediately launched a heavy crackdown, in which over 500 people were killed and nearly 20,000 arrested, according to human rights activists in Iran.