As Iranians opposed to the Islamic Republic’s rule commemorate the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in custody, the young woman’s father was briefly detained by police on Saturday, rights groups said. Man.
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The pressure on relatives of victims of repression in Iran continues. Mahsa Amini’s father was briefly detained on Saturday, September 16, according to human rights groups, in a context of heightened security on the occasion of the first anniversary of the death of his daughter, who sparked months of anti-government protests.
Amjad Amini was warned not to commemorate the anniversary of his daughter’s death before being released, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network said. Iran’s official news agency IRNA denied Amjad Amini’s arrest, without specifying whether he was briefly detained or given a warning.
Earlier, social media and human rights groups reported that security forces had deployed around Amjad Amini’s house in Saqqez, western Iran.
The death in custody of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman on September 16, 2022, arrested for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code, sparked months of protests that became the largest opposition movement to the regime in decades. years.
Read alsoA year of uprisings in Iran after the death of Mahsa Amini
Strikes in several cities
According to messages on social media, Mahsa Amini’s parents said earlier this week that, despite government warnings, they would hold a “traditional and religious birthday ceremony” at their daughter’s grave in Saqqez, his hometown.
Human rights groups say large security forces were deployed to Kurdish-majority areas of Iran on Saturday in anticipation of unrest. Widespread strikes were also reported in several cities in Iran’s Kurdistan region.
Read alsoDeath of Mahsa Amini: revolt and broken destinies
However, IRNA said Saqqez was “completely calm” and calls for strikes in Kurdish areas had failed due to “the vigilance of the population and the presence of security forces and military forces.”
It quotes a Kurdistan provincial official as saying: “A number of agents affiliated with counter-revolutionary groups who had planned to create chaos and prepare events for the media were arrested in the early hours of the morning (Saturday).”
During the demonstrations which followed the death of Mahsa Amini, more than 500 people, including 71 minors, were killed, according to human rights organizations, who also reported hundreds of injured and thousands of victims. arrests. Iran has carried out seven executions linked to the unrest.
With Reuters
Source: France 24
