Prominent Political Activist Arrested At His Home In Tehran

Reformist Shargh daily in a report Thursday said statements by the police and other officials about the implementation of a campaign against hijab-lessness indicate that around 2,000 businesses – including restaurants, cafes, tourist accommodations, retail shops and even a counseling clinic and a gym -- have suffered closure in the past month only. 

On Tuesday hardline media reported that some businesses, mainly restaurants and cafes, owned by celebrity artists and popular footballers have been shut down or received warnings over defiance of hijab rules by their staff and customers.

Authorities also announced on the same day that they had shut down Opal Mall, a massive modern shopping center with over 450 businesses in Tehran. Shargh said the closure of the mall alone has resulted in the loss of around 2,500 jobs.

Woman has a seizure at a shopping arcade in northern Iran after hijab enforcers fire their guns during a scuffle with business owners.

At the start of the month, Iran’s 83-year-old ruler Ali Khamenei reiterated the regime's stance on hijab, which became mandatory after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979. He said: “Discarding hijab is haram (sinful) based on Sharia and also politically."

His declaration was a clear signal to all state and religious authorities to do anything it takes to re-establish control over women who are increasingly joining the civil disobedience movement against forced hijab rules.

However, legal experts say closure of businesses is unjustified even based on the Islamic Republic’s own laws and the Sharia.

“Has anyone ever heard of a street being banned because of a murder that happened there? Or is it possible to shut down a government office because of corruption? … Businesses cannot be sealed because someone removes their hijab there,” Mohammad Mansouri-Boroujeni, a professor of law at Esfahan University wrote in a commentary on April 20.

Mohsen Borhani, an Islamic law expert and lawyer, argued in a tweet that nowhere in Sharia one can find reasons to justify the ban on selling commodities to hijab-less women or to shut down a shop if a hijab-less woman is spotted there. “You neither abide by the law, nor the Sharia. It’s flustering!” he tweeted April 18.

The police have also said they are prosecuting those who promote defiance of the compulsory hijab on social media and have warned hundreds of imminent prosecutions, placed hundreds of “hijab promoters” on the streets to warn women, and banned entrance of unveiled women to museums and other public venues.

Hijab banner in Tehran says it is mothers’ legacy for their daughters.

Tehran municipality has recently put up hundreds of banners on the streets to promote the hijab. “Hijab is the legacy of mothers,” one such banner which shows a mother donning a black veil on a very young girl says while another equates opposition to the compulsory hijab to destroying “the foundations of families.”

“My mother did not wear the hijab. Neither did my grandmother. I’d like to adhere to my own heritage,” a woman said in a video of one of the hijab banners she sent to Iran International.

In a tweet with a photo of the woman who protested the compulsory hijab, another woman said fighting against the compulsory hijab was “mothers’ legacy”

The recent campaign to enforce hijab rules has caused some violent incidents involving pro-hijab vigilantes and women who defy it. A 60-year-old woman had a cardiac arrest this week when a fight broke out between vigilantes and members of her family over hijab.

A member of the family of Kolsum Oftadehpour told Iran International TV that there was no autopsy and authorities did not allow them to see the body before and during the burial which they carried out without the family’s involvement. The family have been threatened not to talk, he said.

The bipartisan legislation, introduced by House Armed Services Committee Member Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), is intended to add sanctions on Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi as well as their inner circles for human rights abuses and support for terrorism. 

“The Supreme Leader is an institution of the Islamic Republic of Iran...that holds ultimate authority over Iran’s judiciary and security apparatus, including the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, law enforcement forces under the Interior Ministry, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the Basij, a nationwide volunteer paramilitary group, subordinate to the IRGC, all of which have engaged in human rights abuses in Iran,” read a paragraph of the MAHSA Act.

Following the unanimous approval at the committee, the MAHSA Act will go to the full House for a vote. The bill requires the executive branch to impose applicable sanctions on Khamenei, his office and his appointees, as well as President Raisi and his cabinet officials, foundations and other entities affiliated with the Supreme Leader under section 105(c) of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010, section 7031 (c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2021, and Executive Orders 13876, 13553, 13224, and 13818.

The MAHSA Act – which has 97 House cosponsors and is supported by the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) -- was first introduced during the 117th Congress in January, about four months into pro-democracy and anti-regime protests following the death of 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran's morality police. 

Amini’s tragic death in September 2022 led to the boldest revolt against the clerical regime since its establishment in 1979. More than 500 people have been killed in the nationwide rallies, nearly 20,000 were detained, and four were executed on trumped up charges.

"There is broad opposition in Congress to the Iranian regimes' aggression and internal repression. I hope that today's markup convinced the White House that any attempt to appease the Ayatollah and provide Iran with sanctions relief will be met with unanimous condemnation,” Banks said after the markup session. 

"I will be monitoring technical changes to the bill and I look forward to voting for its final passage on the House floor in the coming months," he added. 

“This bill is intended to hold the most malicious elements of Iran's regime accountable for human rights abuses like the death of Mahsa Amini and the regime's terrorist activity while avoiding collateral damage to ordinary Iranians,” read a statement by Banks. 

During the Wednesday session most of the discussions were focused on the technical details of the MAHSA Act and how it would be implemented. One of the amendments discussed was meant to include a paragraph in the text that mentioned Khamenei and Raisi were already sanctioned by the US. Those who spoke against the amendment were apparently of the opinion that such a wording would weaken the effectiveness of the measure but even the proponents of the amendment admitted during the session that they only seek reassurance that the Act would lead to tangible measures. 

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) said the MAHSA Act is designed to force the administration’s hand based on a bipartisan measure to ensure that the US uses all available authorities “to compel the Iranian regime to abandon its brutal abuses by applying relevant sanctions”. “This includes both laws passed by Congress and executive orders issued by this and previous presidents,” he added. 

The text, according to Issa, will also limit the current and future administrations’ ability to classify information about dealings with Iran in order to facilitate full transparency and accountability. “The administration and future administrations cannot hide behind nebulous rationales for secrecy and noncompliance,” he noted. 

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) said, “Every member on this committee understands the evil nature of Iran’s Supreme Leader, a man who leads a corrupt criminal theocracy that endangers the Iranian people as well as the entire international community.” “The Supreme Leader murders, tortures, and abuses his own people,” he said, adding that “he denies Iranian citizens freedom and democracy; he guides proxy forces meant to destabilize numerous regional countries; he has threatened to wipe Israel off the map; and he is developing a nuclear program that has stockpiled enough highly-enriched uranium for several nuclear warheads; there must be a cost associated with this behavior.”

However, some lobbyists and a few lawmakers sought to dilute the act, describing it as “Islamophobic” or “not leading to any increased sanctions.” NIAC, advocating non-confrontational policies toward the Islamic Republic, said in a statement that “the bill would make it more difficult for a President to lift sanctions on these officials as part of any diplomatic agreement... This bill does not include a sunset and would target the offices themselves, rather than individuals. As a result, it would remain in effect indefinitely and be applied to any future Supreme Leader or President of Iran until its repeal."

“Although maintaining solidarity has become difficult, we will still carry on as we stand united,” they said in a statement.

The four members are Nobel Peace Prize laurate Shirin Ebadi, prominent activist and women’s rights defender Masih Alinejad, activist and actress Nazanion Boniadi and a Kurdish-Iranian politician Abdollah Mohtadi.

The fifth member of the group, Prince Reza Pahlavi, who is currently visiting Italy to advocate for the Iranian freedom movement, has not yet expressed his position.

Esmaeilion announced last week that he was leaving the Alliance for Democracy and Freedom in Iran because of what he described as lack of democracy and transparency in the council and the “domination” of one member over the others.

In an interview with Iran International TV April 22, Esmaeilion who had not directly mentioned the exiled Prince as the reason for leaving the alliance a day earlier, named him as the person with whom he had disagreements and left the group.

The alliance announced its existence in a February event at Georgetown University and issued its charter, the Mahsa Charter, in early March and its members said they had agreed on “minimal positions” that could create the most consensus among the opposition.

Since last week, thousands of Iranians have been hotly debating the fate of the Alliance, which was formed earlier this year as a vehicle to support the freedom movement after months of popular anti-regime protests in Iran.

The four members of the Alliance also said in their statement that “We do not have a goal except to help the movement inside Iran…and to be the outreach for the voice of the freedom movement of the people to the world.”

Prince Reza Pahlavi said in an April 4 tweet that he had submitted a letter containing the names of additional prospective members to give a voice to those who were unrepresented in the alliance. In another tweet on April 10 he reported that members of the group had not come to a consensus regarding the said candidates.

Calling this a setback, the Prince had also said that he would work with other individuals and groups “to amplify the voices of all Iranians, adding that he would not limit himself “to one group” and stand behind “all groups who believe in ensuring Iran's territorial integrity, who want human rights for the Iranian people, and who believe the future government of Iran should be a secular democracy, the form of which should be decided by the Iranian people.”

If Prince Reza Pahlavi, who has not announced his withdrawal from the opposition group, actively rejoins the Alliance council, the group can still maintain strong influence and be an effective advocate of the movement.

Some of his supporters, who call themselves “constitutional monarchists,” believe that Prince Pahlavi enjoys a large measure of popularity in Iran and alone he can be an effective voice for the revolutionary movement. However, others still believe that a united front of prominent activists is the best vehicle to foster coordination and more legitimacy for the opposition.

The Iranian regime, badly shaken by the most dangerous challenge to its rule in 44 years since the 1979 revolution, is watching these developments. Government-controlled media in Tehran have been expressing satisfaction at the apparent division among the prominent activists, hoping that their advocacy in Europe and North America would become weaker.

Masoud Setayeshi, the spokesman of the judiciary, announced the news of the high profile case in a press conference on Wednesday.

The news of Sharmahd’s kidnapping in Dubai and transfer to Tehran by regime agents was first released in August 2020. He was accused of heading a pro-monarchist group, Kingdom Assembly of Iran, behind of a deadly 2008 bombing and planning other attacks across the country.

Based in Los Angeles, the little-known group seeks to restore the Iranian monarchy that was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution. It also runs pro-Iranian opposition radio and television stations abroad.

Since his arrest, human rights organizations have warned of 67-year-old Sharmahd’s deteriorating health. Sharmahd, who also holds US residency, has been held in solitary confinement and was denied an independent attorney and fair legal procedures. In February, Iran's judiciary sentenced him to death.

Sharmahd's daughter, Ghazaleh, has repeatedly asked German leaders to prevent the execution of her father and to work harder for his release. He is one of an unknown number of Western prisoners held in what human rights organizations have dubbed hostage diplomacy.

The prisoners in question have been arrested on charges of espionage or other alleged crimes. In some cases, they have been held for years without access to legal representation or a fair trial. This has led to accusations of arbitrary detention and a lack of due process.

The Islamic Republic denies any wrongdoing and argues that the prisoners are being held for legitimate reasons.

Lists of celebrities targeted for not enforcing hijab laws were published by Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) media, Tasnim and Fars, the latest crackdown on famous names who have also been punished by bank account freezes, travel bans, pay cuts and communications shutdowns.

Some of those named include restaurants and cafes belonging to football legend Ali Daei, actress Bahareh Rahnama, actor Mohammad Golzar, footballer Karim Bagheri and football coach Alireza Mansourian, all in the capital Tehran. 

Fars has run several campaigns against those refusing to wear the compulsory Islamic headscarf in restaurants and shopping centers in the past few months and urged the authorities to shut them down.

Tasnim also said Baccarat Lounge, a restaurant owned by the national soccer team coach Amir Ghalenoei has already been shut down because its staff did not abide by the hijab rules.

In its report, Tasnim claimed that “all citizens” appreciate and support authorities’ actions against infringers and that no exception was being made for celebrities who have become a legitimate and powerful voice for the protesters.

A few hours later, Tasnim reported that one of the capital’s newest shopping malls, Opal Mall, was shut down because its board of directors had ignored “repeated warnings” to prevent uncovered women from entering the mall.

A wave of Iranian sports and cinema celebrities have used their social media accounts to voice their support for the protests that began in mid-September following the death of a 22-year-old girl, Mahsa (Jina) Amini in the custody of morality police.

Amini was arrested for what the authorities deemed ‘inappropriate’ wearing of the hijab. Since then, the hijab rebellion has grown to levels too worrying for the religious and political establishment who consider defiance of the hijab equal to defiance of the regime itself.

Some outspoken celebrities including actress Taraneh Alidoosti and Katayoun Riahi were arrested or came under various pressures including foreign travel ban during the protests.

Riahi, 61, was the first among Iranian female artists to express her solidarity with the Mahsa Movement by sharing her photo without a veil on Instagram. “Iranian women are each other’s voices,” she said in her post.

The police said Monday that Riahi, who was put on trial in January for supporting the protests, and Pantea Bahram, who recently attended an event unveiled, have been indicted for hijab defiance.

Daei and other legendary soccer players including Mehdi Mahdavi-Kia, Karim Bagheri, Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh, and others who supported the protest movement have also been subjected to similar pressures.

In December authorities forced a Dubai-bound Mahan Airlines plane to land in its Kish Island to prevent Daei’s family from leaving the country. Daei is a hero for Iranians as he was an international soccer legend and the captain of the national team from 2000-2006 whose record of 109 international goals was broken only 2021 by Cristiano Ronaldo.

Many other artists and athletes, including popular Golab Adineh and Fatemeh Motamed-Aria have also refused to wear the hijab in public and published photos of themselves without the hijab on social media. The regime feels if they do not crack down on such defiance, it will create an unstoppable wave amongst society.

At the start of the month, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei reiterated the regime's stance on hijab, which became mandatory after the start of the regime in 1979. He said: “Discarding hijab is haram based on Sharia and also politically." His declaration was a clear signal to authorities that they need to do anything it takes to re-establish control over women and re-impose the hijab rules.