Evin Inmates Stage Protest On Mahsa Anniversary
On the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, detainees in the women's ward of Tehran's Evin Prison gathered in protest.
On the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, detainees in the women's ward of Tehran's Evin Prison gathered in protest.
Chanting slogans of dissent against the regime, the inmates took a stand by refusing to enter their cells and set fire to their headscarves in the prison courtyard.
Seven political prisoners, namely Azadeh Abedini, Sepideh Gholian, Shakila Manafzadeh, Golrokh Iraee, Narges Mohammadi, Mahboubeh Rezaei, and Vida Rabbani, jointly declared their intent to hold a sit-in within the prison courtyard.
Their motivation, they proclaimed, was to "support the people and protest against the regime." This symbolic gesture served as a poignant denunciation of what they termed the "tyranny of the religious authoritarian regime," with the protest occurring on the day when Mahsa Amini lost her life under the pretext of compulsory hijab.
In a statement conveyed via Narges Mohammadi's Instagram page on Friday, the group called upon the people of Iran and the global community to amplify the voices of dissent and opposition, emphasizing the importance of standing united against injustice.
In a demonstration of solidarity with the ongoing protests, a number of other political detainees embarked on a hunger strike. Ali Younesi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Saeed Madani, Hossein Razzagh, Mehdi Mahmoudian, and Mohammad Najafi issued a letter from Evin Prison, announcing their decision to initiate a hunger strike on Saturday.
In the days preceding the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, numerous calls for a nationwide strike and demonstrations, both within Iran and across international cities, have gained momentum.
Security is tense in Iran in anticipation of protests on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, with her parents under house arrest and the regime diverting water from a nearby dam to block access to her hometown's cemetery.
Amjad Amini, Mahsa's father, was briefly detained on Saturday and subsequently placed under house arrest with his wife. This occurred amid a heavy security presence around their home in the Kurdish-majority city of Saqqez in western Iran.
According to online footage, city authorities have opened the gates of the Cheraghveis dam, located about 17 kilometers southwest of Saqqez. This diversion allows water from the dam's reservoir to flow through a river, effectively blocking access roads to the Ayyachi Cemetery, where Mahsa is buried. Mahsa, a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, died in hijab police custody last year, sparking Iran's largest anti-regime protests. Security forces had already sealed off the main entrance to the cemetery on Friday.
On the eve of Mahsa's first death anniversary, people chanted slogans from their windows in Tehran and many other cities across the country. However, planned street protests for the day have been scarce due to the heavy presence of security forces.
Social media has been inundated with images and reports depicting an unprecedented security presence in Kurdish provinces and major cities, including Tehran, Karaj, Rasht, and Tabriz.
Grassroots activists in Tehran informed Iran International on Saturday that the city's main squares are crowded with military and an assortment of security forces, including many plainclothes agents. Military riot control vehicles are stationed every 10 meters in some locations, with black vans positioned to contain potential detainees in between. Some neighborhoods in the capital, with limited access to main streets, such as Ekbatan, have been completely cordoned off by vehicles as security forces patrol the area continuously.
Checkpoint inspections have been established at the entrances to all Kurdish-populated cities, resulting in significant traffic congestion and thorough searches of both passengers and vehicles.
Calls for action by foreign-based activists continue, with numerous Iranian expatriates holding gatherings in several European cities, including Brussels and Paris. Rallies were held in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan earlier in the day.
However, state media claim Amini's hometown of Saqqez was "completely quiet" and that calls for strikes and protests in Kurdish areas had failed due to "the presence of security and military forces".
IRNA quoted an official in the Kordestan province as saying, "A number of agents affiliated with counter-revolutionary groups who had planned to create chaos and prepare media fodder were arrested in the early hours of this morning."
In the protests that followed Amini's death more than 500 people, including 71 minors, were killed, hundreds injured and thousands arrested, rights groups said. Iran carried out seven executions linked to the unrest.
Iran International covered events on Mahsa Amini's death anniversary on September 16. Below are videos and developments in Iran and abroad.
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People in the central city of Arak are out on streets in defiance of regime’s security measures.
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With nightfall across Iran, the number of protesters is increasing on streets. In this video from the northern city of Rasht, people are chanting “death to dictator,” referring to the Supreme Leader.
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While the internet is disrupted across the country, videos of Saturday’s protests are being published in the evening. In this video from earlier in the day, security forces are seen attacking people near Enghelab (revolution) square in Tehran.
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Anti-riot police on motorcycles armed with clubs and shotguns swarm the streets of Ekbatan district in Tehran. Person who posted the video says that one would think they have come to war against armed guerillas, but they have come to attack ordinary citizens.
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People singing traditional Kurdish songs at Mahsa Zhina Amini's grave near her hometown Saqqes.
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Video from earlier in the day in Mashhad shows clashes as a man is heard claiming that protesters are beating security forces as heavy congestion prevents backup forces to reach the square.
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Iranian expatriates in several Italian cities, including Rome, Milan and Bologna held rallies on the occasion of the death anniversary of Mahsa Amini.
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People in the city of Karaj, near the capital Tehran, are chanting "We are a great nation; we will reclaim Iran."
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Security forces are using fire department vehicles for crowd control in the city of Langarud in northern Gilan province.
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People in the city of Mashhad, known for its religious significance, are out on streets rallying in support of the Women, Life, Freedom protests while others express support with long honks from their cars.
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Iranians living in Sweden also marched in the streets of Malmo as they chanted the main slogans of the protests in Iran.
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To prevent movement of people between Kurdish-majority cities, security forces have blocked the road from the city of Baneh to Saqqez, the hometown of Mahsa Amini, where security is intense in anticipation of large gatherings.
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Security forces are quick to attack to disperse people as they gather together to form groups. This video shows regime agents clashing with several people in front of the University of Tehran.
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In addition to a rally, the Iranian diaspora community in Australia held an event about the uprising in Iran where several Australian officials such as lawmaker Keith Wolahan delivered speeches about the prospects of a revolution in Iran.
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Iranian expatriates in several German cities such as Heidelberg and Frankfurt have held rallies in support of the Women, Life, Freedom movement, chanting slogans against the Islamic regime and its ruler Ali Khamenei.
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City authorities in the French capital Paris renamed a park to Jardin Villemin Mahsa Jina Amini during a ceremony attended by Iranian expatriates and Paris mayor, Anne Hidalgo, on the death anniversary of the main icon of Iran’s Women, Life, Freedom movement.
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Iranian diaspora community in the German city of Hanover held a gathering to commemorate the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the Islamic Republic’s morality police and express solidarity with the Women, Life, Freedom movement.
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Security agents have already attacked people in Tehran's Revolution Street midday Saturday, beating and arresting passersby.
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Iranians in Denmark holding a rally on Saturday to mark the first anniversary of anti-regime protests.
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Many journalists, lawyers, activists, students, academics, artists, public figures and members of ethnic minorities accused of links with the protest wave, as well as relatives of protesters killed in the unrest, have been arrested, summoned, threatened or fired from jobs in the past few weeks, according to Iranian and Western human rights groups.
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On the first anniversary of his daughter's death, the father of Mahsa Amini was briefly arrested, the latest in a line of arrests over recent weeks.
Amjad Amini was apprehended by IRGC agents shortly after leaving his home on Saturday and taken to an undisclosed location before he was released and put under house arrest later in the day.
"Security forces detained Amjad Amini today and returned him to his house after threatening him against marking his daughter's death anniversary," A Kurdish human rights group said.
Mahsa Amini's mother's residence is currently surrounded, resembling a military compound, and security measures have been significantly increased in Kurdish-populated regions.
Her uncle has also in recent weeks been arrested with multiple threats levied to her brother as the family is subjected to constant pressure not to gather in remembrance of her death in morality police custody hands one year ago.
Social media has been inundated with images and reports depicting an unprecedented security presence in Kurdish provinces and major cities, including Tehran, Karaj, Rasht, and Tabriz. The Kurdish human rights networks have indicated that Iranian security forces are preventing non-local individuals from entering Mahsa's hometown, including her cemetery.
Checkpoint inspections have been established at the entrances to all Kurdish-populated cities, resulting in significant traffic congestion and thorough searches of both passengers and vehicles.
Students from four universities in Tehran have released statements in support of the Women, Life, Freedom protests and to mark the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death.
In the statements, students from Science and Technology University, Amir Kabir, Beheshti and Khajeh Nasir Toosi Universities underlined that the women's rights protests signify a "public outpouring of frustration against the Islamic Republic."
Students have been at the forefront of protests since the death in morality police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, with many students arrested and barred from continuing their studies for speaking out against the regime and refusing to wear mandatory hijab on campus.
Students at the Beheshti University reaffirmed their unwavering commitment to the cause, emphasizing their resolute support for resistance despite witnessing violence and hostility.
Students from Science and Technology University recalled the events of the past year when "innocent blood was shed, and our patience was tested," leading to a unified call for justice for Mahsa whose killers have still not been brought to justice. The regime claims she died of a pre-existing condition, but scans revealed she had suffered fatal blows to the head.
AmirKabir University of Technology students explicitly stated their opposition to various forces undermining freedom, such as “the Supreme Leader, the IRGC, paramilitary organizations, monarchy, the Mujahedin-e Khalq, centralization, and any form of tyranny or totalitarianism.”
Meanwhile, students from Khajeh Nasir Toosi University of Technology voiced their support, declaring their challenge to the system.
Western powers imposed more sanctions on Iran Friday, highlighting the brutality of the Islamic Republic on the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini.
The United States, The United Kingdom, Canada and the European Union also issued a series of statements voicing support for the Iranian people and women and condemning the government for violence against its own population.
“Jill and I join people around the world in remembering her—and every brave Iranian citizen who has been killed, wounded or imprisoned by the Iranian regime for peacefully demanding democracy and their basic human dignity,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
Amini, 22, was arrested because the hijab police felt her hair wasn’t covered properly. She was hit on the head in custody and died in hospital on 16 September 2022.
People took to the streets in anger and disbelief, first at Mahsa’s hometown of Saqqez in the Kurdistan province and then all over Iran. More than 500 were killed and tens of thousands were arrested in the weeks that followed, as armed police and loyal thugs joined forces to save the regime from the most serious popular challenge to its authority since 1979.
Commemorating Mahsa and the months-long anti-regime protests in Iran, the governments of US, UK and EU announced new rounds of sanctions that would target “some of Iran’s most egregious human rights abusers”, in the words of President Biden.
Those sanctioned by the US include high-ranking members of the IRGC, the head of Iran’s Prisons Organization, and officials linked to Iran’s internet blockade. The English state channel (PressTV) and two IRGC-affiliated media (Fars and Tasnim) were on the list too.
The US Treasury said in a statement that it will take more “collective action against those who suppress Iranians’ exercise of their human rights.”
Britain separately sanctioned senior officials with connection to enforcing mandatory hijab, including the minister for Culture and Islamic Guidance, who has taken action against actresses and businesses for defying the mandatory hijab. Also on the UK list are the Mayor of Tehran, and the Police Spokesman, who has threatened to impound vehicles whose driver or passengers choose to not cover their hair.
The UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, commended the bravery of Iranian women and reaffirmed the UK's unwavering commitment to supporting the Iranian people's pursuit of fundamental rights.
However, the UK has refused to designate Iran's notorious Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization and together with the United States have not pursued the prolongation of UN restrictions on Iranian missile exports that will expire in October.
Some commentators were quick to point out, however, that the UK government's actions speak louder than their words.
Kasra Aarabi, Director of UANI (United Against a Nuclear Iran) reminded Cleverly that the UK government had refused to add IRGC to its list of terrorist organizations. He wrote on X (formerly twitter): “UK Foreign Office's explicit opposition to IRGC proscription not only puts UK lives at risk, it’s given IRGC a propaganda victory before the anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s murder.”
Similar criticisms were leveled at Biden, whose nice words for ‘courageous people of Iran’ have coincided with a secretly negotiated prisoner swap which would see $6 billion handed to the repressive regime.
Jonathan Schanzer of Foundation for Defense of Democracies wrote on X:
“US Imposes Sanctions on the Anniversary of Mahsa “Zhina” Amini’s Death — after authorizing $6 billion in ransom payments that will only serve to boost the coffers of this rotten regime. The strategic incoherence is staggering.”
The prisoner swap seems to be imminent. If it happens on or around 16 September, it would no doubt gobble up precious airtime and overshadow the ‘anniversary’.
Iran has faced growing international isolation and sanctions due to its human rights violations and the supply of UAV technology to Russia for use in Ukraine. Notably, Iran was removed from the UN Commission on the Status of Women in December 2022.
Iranian expatriates marched in Brussels on the eve of the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman whose death in custody ignited Iran’s biggest anti-regime protests.
Thousands of demonstrators, holding up pictures of Amini and many others killed in the protests, called for the overthrow of Iran's theocracy and the establishment of a democratic republic.
Organizers said they had also demanded a unified European Union policy to hold Iran's Shiite clerical rulers accountable for abuses.
Iranian communities in several European cities have kept several rounds of rallies in support of protests in Iran and to demand the closure of Islamic Republic’s missions in Europe.
The protests that followed the death of Amini, arrested for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic's mandatory dress code, spiraled into the biggest show of opposition to the Iranian authorities in years.
Over 500 people including 71 minors were killed, hundreds injured and thousands arrested, rights groups say, in unrest that was eventually crushed by security forces.
The Tehran government has accused the United States and Israel and their local agents of fomenting the unrest to destabilize Iran.
Iranians are bracing for rallies on Saturday while regime forces have been deployed at strategic regions. Heavily armed military forces have been stationed in restive areas, particularly in Kurdish majority cities, and anti-riot police forces are mushrooming on streets of major cities.