Watch: Amid crackdown, protests continue in Iran after girl dies in custody of 'moral police'

Protests continued Tuesday in several Iranian cities after 22-year-old woman died while being held by the morality police for violating the country's strictly enforced Islamic dress code.

Videos shared with The Associated Press by an Iran-based human rights organisation showed authorities violently cracking down on protesters.

The death of Mahsa Amini, who had been picked up by Iran's morality police for her allegedly loose headscarf, or hijab, has triggered daring displays of defiance, in the face of beatings and possible arrest.

Many Iranians, particularly the young, have come to see Amini's death as part of the Islamic Republic's heavy-handed policing of dissent and the morality police's increasingly violent treatment of young women.

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Police say she died of a heart attack and deny that she was mistreated. They released closed-circuit video footage last week purportedly showing the moment she collapsed. Her family says she had no history of heart trouble.