Iranian Regime Detains Protesters' Families, Whereabouts Unknown

The hiker, whose identity remains undisclosed, conveyed details of the attack, which targeted tourists, to Faraz news website on Tuesday. He recounted that the attackers were “approximately 18 or 19 years old, wearing cargo pants, and concealing their faces with keffiyehs."

"They targeted both men and women, but the men seemed to bear the brunt of their aggression. Unfortunately, my teammate now faces a life of paralysis due to the impact of the shocker on his back," he said. A shocker – or electroshock weapon is an incapacitating weapon that delivers an electric shock that temporarily disrupts muscle functions. It does not normally cause lasting damage but can cause permanent disability to muscle or nerve tissue.

The attack occurred on Friday when a group of tourists was exploring the picturesque mountainous region of Opert, situated on the border of Semnan and Mazandaran provinces. The assault was orchestrated by an unidentified armed group.

Pictures shared on social media revealed that the attackers were armed with firearms and electric shocker devices. In addition to the paralyzed hiker, multiple individuals sustained injuries and bruises.

During the attack, the group justified the assault, citing it as a response to "hiking on the third night of Muharram," a time when Shiites mourn the martyrdom of their third Imam.

Iran International has been unable to independently verify these details, and so far, no official reactions have been reported regarding this incident.

However, over recent years, there have been numerous reports of restrictions imposed on Iranian tourists and nature enthusiasts.

This recent attack coincides with the regime's ongoing push for obligatory hijab, adding to concerns over personal safety and freedom of expression.

During Hamedi’s second court session on Tuesday, the detained reporter spoke about her dedication to the profession of journalism, stating: "I take immense pride in my role as a journalist and the work I have done." The statement was brought to light by her husband, Mohammad Hossein Ajorlou, who posted on Twitter, sharing insights into the court proceedings. He wrote: "The lawyers had a brief window to present their defense as the trial concluded. We now eagerly await the verdict in the coming days."

Hamedi, a former reporter from Shargh, one of the most popular reformist newspapers in Iran, and Elaheh Mohammadi, a fellow journalist from the Ham-Mihan newspaper, gained recognition for their coverage of events following the death of Mahsa Amini in 2022, after her arrest for allegedly not wearing the hijab in accordance with regime's standards.

The arrest and ensuing death of Amini whilst in the custody of the morality police sparked nationwide protests in September. Hamedi was apprehended shortly after reporting on Mahsa Amini's death and Mohammadi was detained while covering the funeral procession at the Saqqez cemetery in Kordestan province.

The first session of Hamedi’s trial presided by the notorious judge Abolghasem Salavati was held behind closed doors in Tehran on June 1. Saeed Parsaei and Mohammad Hossein Ajorlou -- the spouses of Hamedi and Mohammadi respectively – had already announced the schedule of the second court session for the two journalists, for Tuesday and Wednesday.

In a recent statement, the activists expressed their concerns about what they view as a systematic process of subjecting women to degrading sentences. "The issuance of such demeaning sentences against women appears to be a deliberate and systematic endeavor," the statement from the human rights group declared.

At the heart of the activists' condemnation lies the government's reliance on compulsory hijab, which humiliates women and places them unfavourably in the spotlight. The group suggests that by resorting to tactics of humiliation, rather than opting for traditional imprisonment, the Islamic Republic aims to minimize potential political consequences on the international stage and therefore aims to maintain a favorable international image, despite the suffering of women.

The statement included a comment from an anonymous but courageous Iranian woman: "We are forced to engage in a battle that has been imposed upon us, but as Iranian women, we have shown that we are not afraid of any struggle until we attain our rights," she said.

Furthermore, the group drew attention to specific sentences that are only imposed upon women, such as being subjected to carrying out free janitorial services, washing dead bodies, and enforced visits to psychologists, all of which are perceived as “deeply troubling and unacceptable”.

Despite facing increasing pressures, civil activists opposing compulsory hijab continue their struggle and civil institutions are actively amplifying their voices on the global stage, underlining the unwavering determination of those advocating for gender equality and human rights in Iran.

Iranian opponents of the Islamic Republic on Monday accused the Hanover-based International Neuroscience Institute of expunging the patient record of the “hanging judge” Hossein-Ali Nayeri who was involved in the massacre of hundreds of political prisoners in 1988. 

Germany’s largest paper, the mass circulation Bild, reported that INI deleted Nayeri’s medical record in apparent move to avoid a new pro-Iran regime scandal. The director of the INI, Dr.Madjid Samii, scrambled to deny the allegation that he was caught again treating a regime official responsible for severe human rights abuses.

“There are currently no patients from Iran at the INI. These allegations damage our reputation, and not for the first time,” said Samii, according to the regional paper HAZ.

Samii, who was born in Tehran in 1937, faced widespread outrage in 2018 for providing care to Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi at INI. Shahroudi headed the Islamic Republic’s opaque judiciary from 1999 to 2009 and imposed executions on 2,000 people, including adolescents. Germany’s government permitted Shahroudi to leave the country after his treatment.

Samii told the HAZ that “As a doctor, I have an obligation to treat every patient, even it is Putin.”

Jason Brodsky, policy director of the US-based United Against a Nuclear Iran (UANI), tweeted a report from the German paper Die Welt that said “According to eyewitnesses, two vehicles with license plates of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran were in the parking lot of the clinic [INI]last Friday.”

The Iranian-German dissident, Dr. Kazem Moussavi, told Iran International that Samii is a “well-known friend of the mullahs” and also treated former Iranian regime judge Gholamreza Mansouri in 2020. Mansouri incarcerated 20 journalists during his tenure. The regime-controlled Young Journalists Club reported at the time that Mansouri “is said to be hospitalized in Professor[Majid] Samii's hospital in Germany.”

Moussavi added, “As an Iranian member of the opposition and spokesman for the Green Party of Iran in Germany, I sharply criticize the Federal government and Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock for regrettably turning Germany into a secret place of treatment for the mullahs' death judges. He [Nayeri] is being treated in a German city of all places, in Hanover, where the Germanpolitical hostage awaiting his execution in Tehran, Jamshid Sharmahd, lived with his family.” 

Moussavi said the German “Federal government must end its appeasement policy” toward Iran’s regime and called for the immediate arrest of Nayeri. 

The Bild paper also took the German government to task for its policies that reportedly placate Tehran’s rulers. “Sweden shows that there is another way: Hamid Nouri, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and Nayeri’s assistant, was arrested [in Sweden] in 2019. Despite protests from Tehran, Nouri was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2021 for torture and murder.”

Moussavi said that Nayeri ”has served as chief adviser to the Islamic Republic's death judge, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, since Ebrahim Raisi's presidency. Both are directly responsible for the political prisoners and those executed in the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ protests in Iran.”

The Bild reported that Iranians, who live in Germany and were victimized by Nayeri, filed criminal complaints against the cleric and judge. The human rights activist Mina Ahadi told the paper “Many of his traumatized victims are here in Germany, you meet them everywhere.”

Amnesty International classified the 1988 massacre as a “crimes against humanity” in which the regime slaughtered at least 5,000 political prisoners. Nayeri issued summary executions to hundreds of political prisoners at Evin and Gohardasht prisons.

The Iran People’s Tribunal on Monday wrote on its website that it filed a case against Nayeri at the Berlin Prosecutor’s Office. Four witnesses are part of the Tribunal’s case who were taken to Nayeri’s “Death Committee” in 1988. The Tribunal said the Berlin Prosecutor forwarded the case to the Hanover Prosecutor who assigned the police to investigate. The police said Nayeri had not been admitted to the INI.

Mizan, an Iranian regime-controlled news agency affiliated to the judiciary, denied that Nayeri visited Germany.

Sheina Vojoudi, an Iranian dissident in Germany, termed Germany’s conduct toward admitting Iranian regime officials accused of grave human rights violations a “double standard.” 

She said, “How can Germany express its concern about human rights violations in Iran, yet let the human rights abusers who are responsible for thousands of innocent lives be hospitalized in Germany while there is no way for the persecuted Christians or political activists to apply for a German visa.”

She continued, “These ayatollahs who have been treated on German soil issued thousands of death sentences to innocent Iranians. Arresting these human rights abusers for their crimes against humanity is the least expected when they enter a democratic country.”

Vojoudi, an associate fellow for the Gold Institute for International Strategy, argued that “Iranian refugees in Germany fled to save their lives from the same Ayatollahs who always come to Germany for the best treatment.”

Iran International sent numerous press queries to the INI and the German Foreign Ministry.

The two journalists – from reformist Iranian dailies Sharq and Ham-Mihan – have been imprisoned for about 300 days because the regime blame them for the nationwide protests that followed the death of the Iranian Kurdish girl. Since her tragic death, Amini has become the icon of Women, Life, Liberty movement, the boldest uprising the regime has faced since its establishment.

The Islamic Republic is known to crack down on people who reveal corruption and wrongdoing in Iran, with authorities announcing that reporting the crimes is worse than the crimes themselves.

The Twitter and Instagram storm was instigated by the husbands of the two journalists -- Mohammad-Hossein Ajorlou and Saeed Parsaei ahead of their next trial hearings. Acting on the call, Iranians rose up with hashtags with the reporters’ names trending in addition to the campaign tag #JournalismIsNotACrime.

The two journalists, whose second court hearing is scheduled for later in the week, have been charged with propaganda against the regime and conspiracy to commit acts against national security, which could bear death sentences.

The duo have become symbols of free journalism and resistance against the regime’s oppressive rule, with a large number of people calling for freedom in their posts.

Hamedi, managed to visit Mahsa Amini in Tehran’s Kasra hospital and broke the news of her grave condition after being taken into the custody of the 'morality' police three days earlier for wearing her hijab “improperly”. Amini was in a coma at the time.

Mohammadi, likewise, managed to travel to Amini’s hometown of Saqqez in western Iran to report on her funeral on September 17, which thousands attended.

The first session of Mohammadi’s trial presided by the notorious judge Abolghasem Salavati was held behind closed doors at Branch 15 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran late in May.

Hamedi’s hearing was held the following day by the same judge and in the same manner. Lawyers of the two journalists were not allowed to speak. The Iranian Constitution stipulates that trials of political prisoners and journalists should be public and with the presence of a jury.

A lot of well-known Iranian human rights activists have participated in the online campaign.

Arash Sadeghi, who has been arrested and jailed on multiple occasions for his activities in defense of human rights, said, “Journalism is not merely a profession; it's a belief in uncovering the truth. Whoever seeks to illuminate with the torch of truth will find their esteemed place in society.”

Rights activist Atena Daemi said on her Twitter page that “the killers of Gina (Mahsa) and thousands of other people are free, but those who expose these murders are being punished!" 

Shiva Nazarahari − Slovenia-based human rights activist and a founding member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters – said the two are among the most committed and active women advocates for women's rights in recent years, covering issues related to allowing women into sport stadiums, violence towards women, and advocating for reproductive rights. “We will not forget them,” she vowed.

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi said in her Telegram channel that "Niloufar and Elahe are innocent. They will remain exemplary models of commitment in journalism. We will not leave them alone."

The Telegram channel of the ultrahardliner Raja News claimed that “anti-Iranian media” are trying to “reduce” the arrest of the two journalists to their coverage of Mahsa Amini’s death. Meanwhile it has been trying to implicate the women in underground revolutionary activity and acting as foreign agents, the most common allegation levied at rights activists and those speaking out against the regime.

The outlet affiliated to the ultraconservative Paydari Front wrote that “reliable information” suggests the two “participated in training courses of institutions that seek the overthrow [of the Islamic Republic] and had connections with foreign intelligence services,”

Iran's intelligence ministry and SAS, the intelligence organization of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) even accused Mohammadi and Hamedi of being CIA agents. “Using the cover of a journalist, she was one of the first people who arrived at the hospital and provoked the relatives of the deceased and published targeted news,” they said in a joint statement.