Advocacy Group Warns Of Mass Arrests Ahead Of Iran's Protests Anniv.
Human Rights Watch has reported mass arrests of Iranian women’s rights defenders by the regime ahead of the anniversary of Women, Life, Liberty protests.
Human Rights Watch has reported mass arrests of Iranian women’s rights defenders by the regime ahead of the anniversary of Women, Life, Liberty protests.
The New York-based rights watchdog said Saturday that regime authorities have arrested at least a dozen activists and intensified pressure on a wide range of peaceful dissidents ahead of the anniversary of the nationwide rallies that swept the country beginning in Spetember 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.
The uprising -- dubbed the Women, Life, Liberty movement -- has been the boldest challenge against the clerical autocracy since its establishment in 1979. The regime brutally cracked down on the antigovernment protests, killing more than 500 people and arresting over 22,000 others.
“Iranian authorities are using their go-to playbook of putting maximum pressure on peaceful dissidents ahead of the anniversary,” said Tara Sepehri-Far, senior Iran researcher at Human Rights Watch. “The arbitrary arrests of a dozen activists are aimed at suppressing popular discontent with ongoing impunity and rights violations.”
In recent weeks, the Islamic Republic regime has intensified its intimidation campaign to discourage potential unrest, detaining civil and human rights activists and students as well as harassing families of protesters who died during the crackdown, with reports coming from several provinces, including Tehran, Gilan, Kordestan, West Azarbaijan, and Esfahan (Isfahan).
At least 12 people were arrested in Gilan province this week, including five women's rights advocates, a photographer, a poet, a graphic designer, and three pharmacists. The General Intelligence Office of the province issued a statement saying it had arrested a network of 12 people “who were planning to disrupt security” and were participating in trainings aimed at a “soft overthrow” of the regime, without providing any evidence. Hengaw Human Rights Organization, a Kurdish rights group, said Thursday that at least 15 people have been arrested in Kurdish majority cities in the past few days.
The intelligence ministry and the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) intelligence organization (SAS) have been reaching out to individuals who were arrested during the anti-regime protests. They are warning them not to participate in any demonstrations on the anniversary of the protest movement, according to sources in Iran who spoke to Iran International.
On Thursday, August 17, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei held a meeting with a large group of Revolutionary Guard commanders and praised them for their performance - which has resulted in the deaths of 500 civilians with thousands more injured and tens of thousands arrested. So far, seven protesters have been executed, and several others face execution. Earlier in the week, hardliner cleric and member of the Iranian Assembly of Experts Ahmad Khatami issued a stern threat against any future protesters, saying that they would be met with forceful suppression, as if the current rounds of suppression are not forceful.
Sepehri-Far noted, “The street protests may have slowed down but the authorities are continuing their crackdown, targeting veteran civil society and human rights defenders,” adding, “UN member states that are in dialogue with Iran should put the rights defenders’ plight at the center of their engagement.”
In addition to arrests and other intimidation tactics, the regime is about to finalize a new hijab bill, whose details have already led to debates even among the regime officials. The enactment of stricter hijab measures is expected to re-ignite further protests. The uprising that was sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini in September has made it increasingly difficult for the clerical regime to enforce the mandatory Islamic dress code.
To avoid the public backlash over the violent enforcement of hijab laws, the Islamic Republic has recently begun implementing a wide range of measures from public humiliation tactics to using traffic cameras to identify women without hijab.
According to a document obtained by Iran International, the regime has also banned gas stations managers from supplying fuel for women who ride motorcycles, which is forbidden in the Islamic Republic.
Political analyst Ali-Hossein Ghazizadeh said Friday on X that the Intelligence Ministry’s campaign of arrests and intimidation has been “unprecedented” even for the Islamic Republic. He noted that when a society is determined to revolt, security measures can only delay it for so long, predicting that “The people will return to the streets, with even stronger motivations to overthrow this regime. Motivations that the Islamic Republic itself is providing for them.”
Abdolhamid, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of the regime in the past year, made the remarks during his Friday prayer sermons, referring to large-scale protests underway in Israel since early 2023 in response to the ruling government's push for a wide-ranging judicial overhaul.
In Israel, 123 protesters were injured and about 700 people were arrested since January. In Iran, well over 500 protesters were killed by regime’s agents while the number of the injured – including those who lost eyesight – is so high that cannot be estimated. At least 22,000 were arrested, with seven executed and some on death row on trumped up charges.
Comparing how the Israeli government is handling the protests with what the Islamic Republic is doing, he said, "It's astonishing that in Israel, not even one person from the protesters and forces opposing the government has been killed. Israel kills Palestinians but not its own people. They differentiate between their own nation and others. But why isn't it the same here?"
Abdolhamid said, "Everyone in Israel has revolted and protested that Netanyahu wants to lead the government towards dictatorship. Pilots and reserve army forces have resigned because they don't want to defend a dictatorship,” implicitly calling on Iranian military officials to break their silence in the face of injustices.
The cleric rebuked the authorities who continue to threaten people to discourage them from further demonstrations as the anniversary of anti-regime protests approaches in mid-September, and the regime has intensified its intimidation campaign. "Recently, one of the Basij commanders said that if there is another protest, we will suppress it. Suppressing the people is not the right approach. The Basij should listen to the people's grievances.People have problems; they are hungry; they are humiliated and are stuck in a deadlock.”
He condemned those officials who are not independent in their decisions and turn a blind eye to the country’s problems and corruption, emphasizing that there are no prospects for a better future for Iran. Referring to the inability of the government to deal with Iran's critical issues, he said, "Day by day, the country's crises deepen, and the nation is facing endless problems. Now, with the arrival of a new parliament and administration, are these problems supposed to be resolved," Abdolhamid said referring to parliamentary elections in March.
"If there is no bright prospect and the new parliament will only repeat the same old tactics, while people's vote would have no impact, it will be all futile," he added.
Implicitly alluding to Iran's leader Ali Khamenei, he emphasized the necessity for all individuals, regardless of their status, to be subject to accountability without being treated as untouchable "red lines." He labeled this issue as the regime's "greatest danger," condemning the reluctance of senior officials to heed the grievances of the people, especially those whose identities remain concealed from public discourse. Critically assessing the Assembly of Experts for Leadership—an authoritative body responsible for appointing the Supreme Leader—Abdolhamid asked, “What is the purpose of this council if its members cannot oversee the organizations and institutions under Khamenei’s control?”
The forthright Sunni leader remarked that unless there is a shift in perspectives and policies, coupled with substantial transformation that genuinely serves the people, the ongoing challenges will endure. He stressed that merely altering parliamentary representatives, the Assembly of Experts, or the presidency will not suffice to address these persistent issues.
Following his sermons, people in several Sunni majority cities in Sistan-Baluchestan, including the provincial capital Zahedan, poured onto streets and chanted slogans to demand the release of political prisoners. Residents have been protesting every Friday since last September when sucurity forces killed around 90 civilians during a Friday protest.
Families of protesters who died during the uprising as well as civil and human rights activists and students are the main target of the regime’s repression apparatus, that wants to silence the most prominent popular voices.
Dozens of the victims’ families and protesters who were detained and released during the nationwide rallies in the past year have been arrested or summoned, with reports coming from several provinces, including Tehran, Gilan, Kordestan, West Azarbaijan, and Esfahan (Isfahan).
On Thursday, security forces detained Kourosh Vaziri, whose 35-year-old wife Shirin Alizadeh was killed by regime agents while she was filming protests alongside her husband and child in Mazandaran province last September. Security agents ordered the family not to mark her birthday this week, which they had to accept, but the agents went for the husband and arrested him anyway.
Mahsa Basiratavana, the sister of Mehran Basiratavana – shot dead by security forces in November – was also arrested on Thursday. Mahsa Basiratavana is among a dozen more residents in Gilan province who have been arrested this week, including five women's rights advocates, a photographer, a poet, a graphic designer, and three pharmacists.
On Wednesday, family members of Komar Daroftade -- a 16-year-old boy who was shot from close range in Piranshahr, West Azarbaijan province – were detained and interrogated.
In the capital Tehran, the security forces detained Negar Sardari at her residence and transferred her to an undisclosed location on Wednesday. She is the spouse of Mehdi Etemad-Saeed, a theater actor who was detained several weeks ago.
Elaheh Askari, a photographer and blogger, has also been detained by the Ministry of Intelligence in Tehran. Hamidreza Askari, her brother, wrote on his Instagram page: "On Thursday, after my sister visited the passport office to retrieve her passport, she was detained and transferred to Evin Prison."
Hengaw Human Rights Organization, a Kurdish rights group, said Thursday that at least 15 people have been arrested in Kurdish majority cities in the past few days. "Government forces, without presenting any judicial warrant, raided the homes of these citizens in Mahabad and Oshnavieh, instilling fear and intimidation, and subsequently arrested them and transferred them to undisclosed locations."
These are only several instances in an escalating string of government clampdowns on activists, students, educators, and writers in the lead-up to the September 16 anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death at the hands of police.
Over the past several weeks, the intelligence ministry and the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) intelligence organization (SAS) have been reaching out to individuals who were arrested during the anti-regime protests. They are warning them not to participate in any demonstrations on the anniversary of the protest movement, according to sources in Iran who spoke to Iran International.
Those summoned by the intelligence agencies have been asked to sign pledges to stay at home for a week, and some have even been required to take time off from work, ensuring their absence from any protests. They have been threatened with arrest if they are found engaged in any pro-protest movement activities in public or on social media.
Political analyst Ali-Hossein Ghazizadeh said Friday on X that the Intelligence Ministry’s campaign of arrests and intimidation has been “unprecedented” even for the Islamic Republic. “The problem with these incompetent intelligence agencies is that they fail to understand the nature of society's behavior,” he said, adding, “They fail to grasp that when the roots of discontent have spread to the extent that you are compelled to conduct such massive arrests across the country and from various strata of society, the regime has lost the reins of control.”
He noted that when a society is determined to revolt, security measures can only delay it for so long, predicting that “The people will return to the streets, with even stronger motivations to overthrow this regime. Motivations that the Islamic Republic itself is providing for them.”
On Thursday, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei held a meeting with a large group of Revolutionary Guard commanders and praised them for their performance, which has resulted in the deaths of 500 civilians, with thousands more injured and tens of thousands arrested. So far, seven protesters have been executed, and several others face execution.
Earlier in the week, hardliner cleric and member of the Iranian Assembly of Experts Ahmad Khatami issued a stern threat against any future protesters, saying that they would be met with forceful suppression, as if the current rounds of suppression are not forceful.