Iran Detains a Lawyer Who Criticized 2022 Crackdown Following Mahsa Amini's Death

Iranian lawyer Mohsen Borhani speaks during a campaign rally of the reformist candidate for the presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian lawyer Mohsen Borhani speaks during a campaign rally of the reformist candidate for the presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Iran Detains a Lawyer Who Criticized 2022 Crackdown Following Mahsa Amini's Death

Iranian lawyer Mohsen Borhani speaks during a campaign rally of the reformist candidate for the presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranian lawyer Mohsen Borhani speaks during a campaign rally of the reformist candidate for the presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An outspoken Iranian lawyer who has publicly criticized how the government handled the 2022 protests over the death of Mahsa Amini has been arrested, state media reported Sunday.
The unrest followed the death of the 22-year-old detained by the police for allegedly not properly wearing her mandatory headscarf. The massive protests quickly escalated into calls to overthrow Iran’s four-decade theocracy, The Associated Press said.
The judiciary’s Mizan news agency said Sunday that Mohsen Borhani had been previously sentenced but did not give further details on his case or jail time.
Borhani, also a university professor, became popular on social media for his critical views of the Iranian government during the 2022 demonstrations that shook Iran and sparked a security crackdown that killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained. UN investigators said Iran was responsible for the physical violence that led to Amini's death.
The lawyer's arrest came a day after reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian was elected to lead the country.
Pezeshkian promised to reach out to the West after years of sanctions and protests squeezing his country.



Israeli Strikes Kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza, Medical Officials Say

Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 14 Palestinians in Gaza, Medical Officials Say

Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)
Displaced Palestinians walk near their tents, set up along the beach in the west of Al-Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 November 2024. (EPA)

Palestinian medical officials say two Israeli strikes in Gaza killed at least 14 people, including two children and a woman, most in an Israeli-declared humanitarian zone.

One strike late Monday hit a makeshift cafeteria used by displaced people in Muwasi, the center of the so-called humanitarian zone. At least 11 people were killed, including two children, according to officials at Nasser Hospital, where the casualties were taken. Video from the scene showed men pulling bloodied wounded from among tables and chairs set up in the sand in an enclosure made of corrugated metal sheets.

The strike came hours after the Israeli military announced an expansion of the zone, where it has told Palestinians evacuating from other parts of Gaza to take refuge. Hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are sheltering in sprawling tent camps in and around Muwasi, a largely desolate area of dunes and agricultural fields with few facilities or services along the Mediterranean coast of southern Gaza.

Israel faces a deadline this week for the Biden administration’s ultimatum for it to allow more aid into Gaza or risk possible restrictions on US military funding.

Another strike early Tuesday hit a house in the urban Al-Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing three people including a woman, according to al-Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. The strike also wounded 11 others, it said.

The Israeli military had no immediate comment on either strike.

Israel’s 19-month-old campaign in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities who don’t distinguish between civilians and fighters in their count, but say more than half the dead were women and children.

Israel says it targets Hamas fighters and blames the armed group for civilian deaths, saying it operates in residential areas and infrastructure and among displaced people.

The war in Gaza began when Hamas-led gunmen stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023 and killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250. Around 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, about a third believed to be dead.