The protest icon’s father, Jina Mahsa Amini, was also temporarily detained on Saturday.
Tehran. On the first anniversary of the death of protest icon Jina Mahsa Amini, her father was temporarily arrested in Iran, according to human rights activists. He had just left home when Revolutionary Guard units arrested him, human rights organization Hengaw reported on Telegram. Iranian media says it is a hoax. A little later, Amini’s father was released again. Apparently, a memorial service planned by Amini’s family at his grave should definitely be avoided. According to Iranian intelligence, there were several arrests in the Kurdish areas.
Yesterday, Saturday, marked the first anniversary of Amini’s death, which triggered Iran’s worst uprisings in decades in the fall of 2022. Islamic morality watchdogs arrested the then 22-year-old because she allegedly wore her headscarf in a manner incorrect. What exactly happened next remains unclear to this day – the young woman fell into a coma and died in a hospital. Amini’s parents expressed doubts from the beginning about the State’s claim that their daughter had died as a result of an illness. They gave countless interviews to local and international media and thus found themselves in the crosshairs of the judiciary. Thousands of people attended Amini’s funeral. Starting in the Kurdish regions, the protests spread like wildfire.
“Woman, life, freedom.” After the death of Jina Mahsa Amini, the young generation in particular took to the streets against the repressive policies of the Islamic leadership under the slogan “Woman, life, freedom”. State authorities violently repressed protests that kept the country in suspense for months.
There were initially no calls for protests due to concerns that emergency services would resort to violence again on the day of his death. People in Kurdish areas still wanted to mark the day, for example, by closing shops. Also in other cities, the power apparatus took precautions against possible new protests and the police presence increased everywhere.