Iranian authorities arrest Mahsa Amini’s father on first anniversary of his death
Iranian authorities arrested the father of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman who died in police custody last year, as he left his home to visit his daughter’s grave on her first birthday. his death, human rights observers said.
Hours later, Amjad Amini was taken home by security agents and placed under house arrest, the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights said Saturday.
Mahsa Amini died in hospital on September 16, 2022 from injuries sustained while in police custody. She had been arrested by the Islamic Republic’s hijab police, known as the morality police, in Tehran, allegedly for failing to fully comply with the country’s rules regarding compulsory hijab.
Although the government has claimed that Amini died from a previous health problem while in police custody, her family and regime critics believe she died as a result of the beatings she received. inflicted by the police.
A police motorcycle burns during a protest against the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic Republic’s “morality police”, in Tehran, Iran, September 19, 2022.
Reuters
Her tragic death sparked months of nationwide protests known as the “Woman Life Freedom” movement. At least 537 people were killed by the regime during a brutal crackdown on protests and at least 22,000 were arrested, Iran Human Rights reported in April.
Tens of thousands of protesters were arrested during the months-long demonstrations, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) later confirmed.
Despite pressure from intelligence and security services against his family, Amjad Amini said in a public post on his Instagram that the family would hold a commemoration ceremony on the anniversary. He nevertheless invited the population to refrain from all violence.
Iranian women not wearing the obligatory headscarf walk along an avenue in downtown Tehran, September 12, 2023.
Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via AP
“While honoring the pain and concerns of our dear fellow citizens, we invite everyone to refrain from all violence and to react against it,” the press release said.
British Iranians staged a protest in Westminster against the Iranian regime ahead of the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death and the mass protests and crackdown in Iran that followed, on September 13, 2023, in London.
Vuk Valcic/Zuma Press Wire
After news of Amjad Amini’s arrest circulated on social media on Saturday, the Tasnim news agency, a state-linked media outlet, denied the arrest and said he had been “accompanied » on the way to his daughter’s grave.
Human rights observers have accused the regime of putting pressure ahead of the anniversary on families of victims of the repression, as well as activists, former political prisoners and anyone with a leading role in the protests .
Videos circulating on social media show the massive presence of security agents and plainclothes police, particularly in central Tehran and in Saqez, Amini’s hometown.
ABC News
