Iranian Authorities Crackdown on Protests Marking 40 Days of Mourning for Amini

Iranian women without headscarves during a demonstration in Shiraz (Twitter)
Iranian women without headscarves during a demonstration in Shiraz (Twitter)
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Iranian Authorities Crackdown on Protests Marking 40 Days of Mourning for Amini

Iranian women without headscarves during a demonstration in Shiraz (Twitter)
Iranian women without headscarves during a demonstration in Shiraz (Twitter)

Marking 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman who died in Tehran on Sept. 16 after being detained by Iran’s morality police, Iranians took to the streets nationwide in defiance of strict security measures by authorities.

Fierce rallies returned with force to major Iranian cities such as Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad, and Tabriz. Demonstrations were also organized in Qazvin, Zanjan, Babylon, Rasht, Kerman, Arak, Urmia, and Karaj.

Security forces used tear gas, live ammunition, and batons to disperse protesters in several areas in central Tehran. Protesters raised slogans mostly targeting Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

On Wednesday, thousands of people participated in a memorial for Amini in Saqez, her hometown in Kurdistan Province.

“Security forces have shot tear gas and opened fire on people in Zindan square, Saqez city,” reported Hengaw, a Norway-based group that monitors rights violations in Kurdistan.

Many chanted “woman, life, freedom” and “freedom, freedom”, slogans that have been widely used in the demonstrations across Iran.

Protesters also chanted “Kurdistan will be the graveyard of fascists” in the cemetery where Amini is buried.

“A limited number of those present at Amini’s memorial clashed with police forces on the outskirts of Saqez and were dispersed,” semi-official Iranian state news agency ISNA said.

ISNA also said the internet had been cut in Saqez for “security reasons,” and that nearly 10,000 people had gathered in the city.

A witness in Saqez told Reuters that the cemetery where Amini is buried was crowded with Basij forces and police.

Crowds of people have made a pilgrimage to Amini's grave despite pressure from the authorities.

The state news agency IRNA issued a statement saying that the family had not planned to hold a ceremony to commemorate the 40th day of Amini’s death “to avoid any unfortunate problems.”

Activists told AFP that Iranian security services warned Amini’s family not to hold any events on the day, otherwise “they should worry about their son's life.”



EU Sanctions Iranian Individuals Accused of Targeting Dissidents

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
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EU Sanctions Iranian Individuals Accused of Targeting Dissidents

European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
European Union flags fly outside the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium November 8, 2023. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo

The EU has imposed sanctions on eight people and one entity responsible for the targeting of Iranian dissidents for assassination on behalf of Iran's government, the European Council said in a statement on Tuesday.

The sanctions, over what it called "serious human rights violations" and "transnational repression", included asset freezes and travel bans, the council said.

The Council listed the Zindashti Network, which it said was a criminal group uconnected to the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security that has carried out numerous acts of transnational repression, including assassinations of Iranian dissidents, Reuters reported.

It also included the Zindashti Network's boss Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti - who it said was an Iranian narcotics trafficker and organised crime boss - and some of his associates. Zindashti and his network have previously been sanctioned by the United States.

The Council, the European Union's governing body, is also targeting Mohammed Ansari, the leader of the Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force Unit 840, who it said ordered the assassination of journalists critical of the Iran.

It said that the listings confirmed the EU’s concerns about transnational repression by Iranian state bodies through the use of proxy agents, in particular involving criminals and organised crime networks targeting dissidents and human rights defenders across the world, including on EU territory.