In commemoration of the first anniversary of the tragic death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, Iranians both at home and abroad have voiced their concerns over a perceived resurgence of a crackdown aimed at stifling any potential resurgence of the protests that shook major Iranian cities last year.
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, tragically passed away shortly after her arrest by religious police, allegedly for violating the stringent dress code enforced since the 1979 revolution. Her family maintains that her death resulted from a head injury, though this assertion remains disputed by Iranian authorities.
The initial anger and grief surrounding Mahsa Amini’s demise swiftly transformed into weeks of unprecedented protests. These demonstrations challenged societal norms as women defiantly shed their mandatory headscarves in a direct challenge to the Islamic Republic’s governing system under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
However, these protests eventually lost momentum in the face of a heavy-handed crackdown that reportedly claimed the lives of 551 protesters, according to Norway-based Iran Human Rights, while Amnesty International reported over 22,000 arrests. Iranian authorities contend that the protests were “riots” incited by foreign governments and hostile media and claim that dozens of security personnel were also killed.
In the lead-up to the anniversary, activists claim that Iranian authorities have intensified their efforts, exerting pressure on the families of those who lost their lives in the protests in an attempt to silence them.
Human Rights Watch, based in New York, reported that family members of at least 36 individuals who were either killed or executed during the crackdown have faced interrogations, arrests, prosecutions, or prison sentences in the past month.
Tara Sepehri Far, senior Iran researcher at HRW, asserted, “Iranian authorities are trying to impose a chokehold on dissent to prevent public commemoration of Mahsa Jina Amini’s death in custody, which has become the symbol of the government’s systematic oppression of women, injustice, and impunity.”
Journalists Niloufar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi, who played pivotal roles in publicizing Mahsa Amini’s case, have been imprisoned for nearly a year. Nazila Maroufian, who interviewed Mahsa Amini’s father Amjad, has faced repeated arrests.
Despite these challenges, Amjad Amini expressed his intention to hold a commemoration for his daughter in their hometown of Saqez in western Iran. Reports suggest that he was summoned by intelligence officials after making this announcement.
Kurdish-focused news outlet Hengaw reported the deployment of additional security forces to Saqez and other towns in western Iran that could potentially become flashpoints. They also noted a significant presence of “repressive forces” around the Amini family residence in Saqez.
Amjad Amini himself was briefly detained by security forces on the anniversary of his daughter’s death, according to rights groups. Iran’s official IRNA news agency denied his arrest but did not clarify whether he was briefly detained or warned.
Security forces were notably heightened in Iran’s predominantly Kurdish areas, as human rights groups anticipated potential unrest. While widespread strikes were reported in multiple cities in Iran’s Kurdistan region, IRNA claimed that Saqez remained “completely quiet” due to the vigilance of the people and the presence of security forces.
Nevertheless, the conservative-dominated Iranian parliament is currently considering legislation that could impose stricter penalties for non-compliance with the dress code, despite some women still appearing in public without headscarves, particularly in affluent, traditionally liberal areas of north Tehran.
Sara Hossain, chair of the UN fact-finding mission investigating the crackdown, emphasized, “The Islamic Republic is doubling down on repression and reprisals against its citizens and seeking to introduce new and more draconian laws that severely restrict further the rights of women and girls.”
Iranian emigrants around the world are expected to hold commemorative rallies under the slogan “Say her name!” with major demonstrations anticipated in Paris and Toronto.
Amnesty International accused Iran’s authorities of committing crimes under international law in their efforts to suppress dissent and regretted that no officials have been investigated for Mahsa Amini’s death or the subsequent crackdown.
In response to these events, the United States and its Western allies, including Britain and the European Union, imposed new sanctions on Iran over its handling of the protests. US President Joe Biden expressed solidarity with Iranians on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, emphasizing, “Iranians alone will determine the fate of their country, but the United States remains committed to standing with them.”
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanani, criticized Western countries for their “illegal and undiplomatic actions” in response to these developments.
Source AFP
