Mahsa Amini’s father detained on anniversary of death, rights group says

The father of Mahsa Amini was briefly detained by Iranian security forces on Saturday on the first anniversary of her death, a human rights group has said.

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network said: “Security forces detained Amjad Amini today and returned him to his house after threatening him against marking his daughter’s death anniversary.”

It came as Iranian security forces were deployed in the home town of Mahsa Amini in anticipation of unrest as many across the country prepared to mark the first anniversary of her death in police custody, the Guardian reports.

The death of Amini, a 22-year-old arrested for allegedly flouting the country’s mandatory dress code for women, sparked months of anti-government protests that spiralled into the biggest show of opposition to the authorities in years.

More than 500 people including 71 minors were killed, while hundreds were injured and thousands arrested in the protests, which were eventually crushed by security forces, rights groups said.

Iranian authorities said dozens of security personnel were also killed in what they described as “riots” incited by foreign governments and hostile media.

Seven men have been executed after being convicted in protest-related cases.

In Amini’s birthplace in Iran’s western province of Kurdistan, a rights activist said there was a “heavy presence of security forces”. Another activist said a small gathering of protesters chanted anti-government slogans before quickly dispersing.

The activists spoke on condition of anonymity, citing a fear of government reprisals amid a growing clampdown on dissent as the anniversary approached.

Social media posts spoke of security force deployments in several cities, mainly within Kurdistan. The reports could not be immediately verified.

The New York-based organisation Human Rights Watch (HRW) said family members of at least 36 people killed or executed in the crackdown had been interrogated, arrested, prosecuted or sentenced to time in prison over the past month.

HRW’s senior Iran researcher, Tara Sepehri Far, said: “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.”

The two journalists who did the most to publicise the Amini case – Niloofar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, who respectively reported from her hospital and funeral – have been held in prison for almost a year. Another reporter, Nazila Maroufian, who interviewed Amini’s father has been arrested repeatedly.

While some women are still seen walking in public without headscarves – particularly in wealthy, traditionally liberal areas of north Tehran – the conservative-dominated parliament is considering a draft law that would impose far stiffer penalties for non-compliance.

Sara Hossain, the chair of the UN fact-finding mission set up to investigate the crackdown, said: “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.”

Under the slogan “Say her name”, Iranian émigrés are expected to hold commemorative rallies, with large demonstrations expected in Paris, London and Toronto.

On Friday evening, thousands of Iranian émigrés marched in Brussels, holding up pictures of Amini and many others killed in the protests while calling for the overthrow of Iran’s theocracy and the establishment of a democratic republic.

Britain and the US imposed new sanctions on Iran on Friday. The US state department said Canada, Australia and other partners were also imposing sanctions this week.

The US president, Joe Biden, said in a statement on Friday: “Mahsa’s story did not end with her brutal death. She inspired a historic movement – Woman, Life, Freedom – that has impacted Iran and influenced people across the globe.

“We reaffirm our commitment to the courageous people of Iran … and together with our allies and partners, we stand with them.”