Iran intensifies oppression ahead of first commemoration of Mahsa Amini's death

As the first commemoration of the death of young woman Mahsa Amini approaches, Iran has intensified its operations to detain public figures, activists, and relatives of individuals killed by security forces during last year's protests, according to activists.

The demise of the 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, who died in police custody on September 16, 2022, for allegedly not adhering to the strict dress code imposed on women in the Islamic Republic, triggered massive protests against the regime in Iran.

These protests defied taboos and challenged the ideological foundations of the Islamic Republic, which was founded in 1979. Slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were chanted, and women took to the streets without wearing headscarves.

However, the momentum of these protests noticeably receded, apart from sporadic actions, due to harsh repression resulting in the arrest of thousands, as per the United Nations, and the killing of hundreds, according to human rights activists.

Exiled activists affirm that authorities have intensified their suppression campaign, fearing the resurgence of protests on the commemoration of Amini's death.

Among those arrested in August is the famous singer Mahdi Yarrahi, following his release of a song criticizing the mandatory hijab in the Islamic Republic.

In addition to Yarrahi, 11 women's rights activists were arrested in the Gilan province (north), one of the areas most affected by last year's protests, according to the non-governmental organization "Human Rights Activists News Agency," based in the United States.

Amnesty International confirms that families of protesters killed during the suppression campaign have been victims of "arbitrary arrests and detentions to silence them and evade accountability" regarding the fate of their relatives.

Hadi Ghaemi, the director of the Center for Human Rights in Iran based in New York, told Agence France-Presse, "These arrests are a clear attempt by the Iranian authorities to sow fear among the population as the upcoming commemoration approaches and to prevent new protests from erupting."

An Amnesty International report reveals that families of individuals killed during the suppression campaign have faced abusive interrogations, arbitrary detentions, legal pursuits, and unjust convictions in recent months.

Diana Eltahawy, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa Regional Office at Amnesty International, states that the "brutality of the Iranian authorities knows no bounds," accusing them of a "sinister attempt to whitewash their crimes."

According to "Human Rights Activists News Agency," as well as the Norwegian-based organization "Hengaw," security forces have arrested many relatives of victims, including Hananeh Kia's mother. Kia, a 22-year-old, was fatally shot by security forces in September 2022 at the outset of the protests.


AFP