Mahsa Amini Not Forgotten in Iran Six Months after Death

An woman holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the morality police, during a demonstration in front of the German lower house of parliament (Bundestag), on the occasion of the International Women's Day, on March 8, 2023. (AFP)
An woman holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the morality police, during a demonstration in front of the German lower house of parliament (Bundestag), on the occasion of the International Women's Day, on March 8, 2023. (AFP)
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Mahsa Amini Not Forgotten in Iran Six Months after Death

An woman holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the morality police, during a demonstration in front of the German lower house of parliament (Bundestag), on the occasion of the International Women's Day, on March 8, 2023. (AFP)
An woman holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian woman who died after being arrested in Tehran by the morality police, during a demonstration in front of the German lower house of parliament (Bundestag), on the occasion of the International Women's Day, on March 8, 2023. (AFP)

Six months ago this week, Mahsa Amini was arrested for allegedly flouting Iran's strict dress code for women. Within days she was dead, sparking the country's biggest protests in years.

The 22-year ethnic Kurd became a household name inside Iran, a rallying point for demands for change. Around the world, she became a hero for women's rights campaigners and a symbol for Western opponents of the Tehran regime.

Amini was visiting the capital Tehran with her brother and cousins when she was arrested as they were leaving a metro station in the city center last September.

Accused of wearing "inappropriate" attire, she was taken to a police station by officers of the morality police.

There she collapsed after a quarrel with a policewoman, according to a short surveillance video released by the authorities.

She spent three days in hospital in a coma before her death on September 16, which the authorities blamed on underlying health issues.

For many, the young woman from the western city of Saqez personified the fight against the obligation to wear the headscarf. Her name became the rallying point for a protest movement that gripped the country for months.

The epitaph engraved on her tomb reads: "You are not dead Mahsa, your name has become a symbol".

Almost overnight, her portrait became ubiquitous in Iran's cities, fly-postered on walls and held aloft by protesters. It even made the cover of some magazines published inside Iran, including the March edition of the monthly Andisheh Pouya.

"Unknown before her death, Mahsa has become a symbol of oppression and her innocent face reinforces this image," said political scientist Ahmad Zeidabadi.

Call for openness

The protests over her death in custody, which began in the capital and in her native Kurdistan province, swiftly mushroomed into a nationwide movement for change.

Public anger over her death merged with "a series of problems, including the economic crisis, attitudes toward the morality police, or political issues such as the disqualification of candidates for election" by Iran's conservative-dominated vetting body the Guardian Council, said sociologist Abbas Abdi.

Spearheaded by young people demanding gender equality and greater openness without a leader or political program, the street protests peaked late last year.

Hundreds of people were killed, including dozens of security force personnel. Thousands more were arrested for participating in what officials described as "riots" and blamed on hostile forces linked to the United States, Israel and their allies.

In February, after the protests abated and supreme leader Ali Khamenei decreed a partial amnesty, the authorities began to release thousands of people arrested in connection with the protests.

Some 22,600 people "linked to the riots" have so far been released, the head of the judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said this week.

But Abdi said protesters could return to the streets again as the underlying grievances remained unaddressed.

"The demonstrations are over, but I doubt the protest has ended," he said, noting that "the main causes of the crisis remain.

"In the current situation, any incident can trigger new protests."

He cited as an example the public anger sparked by a spate of mystery poisonings that have affected thousands of pupils at more than 200 girls' schools over the past three months.

Quiet change

The mass demonstrations inside Iran, among the largest since the 1979 revolution, prompted some in the exiled opposition to talk of an imminent change of regime.

"Some people, especially in the diaspora, have mistakenly bet on the fall of the Islamic republic in the very near future," political scientist Zeidabadi said.

Zeidabadi argued that the emigres had misunderstood the nature of the protest movement which he said was more "civic" than political.

He stressed that, viewed in that fashion, the movement had produced "results", notably a quiet relaxation in enforcement of the dress code for women.

"A certain degree of freedom from the hijab is tolerated even if the law and the rules have not changed," Zeidabadi said.

He predicted similarly discreet and cautious reforms in other areas, notably the economy, which has been blighted by inflation of around 50 percent and a record depreciation of the rial against the dollar.

"It seems that Tehran has realized the need for a change of policy, although there is no consensus within it on a lasting response to meet the challenge."



Yemeni Platform Warns of Houthis Expanding Influence to Horn of Africa

Yemenis lift placards and flags during a rally in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa in solidarity with Palestinians on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
Yemenis lift placards and flags during a rally in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa in solidarity with Palestinians on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
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Yemeni Platform Warns of Houthis Expanding Influence to Horn of Africa

Yemenis lift placards and flags during a rally in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa in solidarity with Palestinians on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)
Yemenis lift placards and flags during a rally in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa in solidarity with Palestinians on July 26, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas movement. (AFP)

A Yemeni platform focused on organized crime and money-laundering, PTOC, has warned of the dangers of the Iran-backed Houthi militias expanding their activities and influence to the Horn of Africa.

In a report, it said the militias were actively seeking to expand their operations there with the direct supervision of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and in coordination with the Lebanese Hezbollah militia, which is also backed by Tehran.

This is the first time that a report is filed about the Houthi plans in the Horn of Africa.

Asharq Al-Awsat received a copy of the report that details the Houthis’ expansionist plans at Iran’s direction. It discusses the Houthis’ smuggling and armament operations, recruitment and training of Africans, and identifies the officials responsible for the militias’ project in the Horn of Africa.

Overseeing the foreign expansion are leading Houthi officials Abdulwahed Abu Ras, Al-Hassan al-Marrani and Abu Haidar al-Qahoum, as well as head of the so-called security and intelligence agency Abdulhakim al-Khiwani and foreign operations agency official Hassan al-Kahlani, or Abu Shaheed.

The report also highlighted the role played by deputy Houthi foreign minister Hussein al-Azzi through diplomatic sources and figures in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Sudan and Kenya to forge intelligence, security, political and logistical ties.

Training

The report said the Houthis were keen on establishing “sensitive intelligence centers” throughout the Horn of Africa and countries surrounding Yemen. They are working on training cadres “as soon as possible” so that they can be “effectively activated at the right time to achieve the Quranic mission and common interests of all resistance countries, especially Iran, Gaza and Lebanon.”

The report obtained documents that reveal how the Houthis have established ties with African figures to “complete preparations and operations in the Red Sea and Horn of Africa to support the Houthis should they come under any international political or diplomatic pressure.”

Leading officials

The report identified several Houthi figures who are overseeing these operations, starting with IRGC official “Abu Mahdi” to the owner of the smallest boat that is used for smuggling weapons in the Red Sea.

It also spoke of the relations forged with the al-Shabaab al-Qaeda affiliate in Somalia and the African mafia to smuggle Africans to Yemen in what the report described as one of the most dangerous human trafficking and organized crimes.

The PTOC report said the Houthis have recruited Africans from various countries, especially in wake of the militias’ coup in Sanaa in 2014. They have been subjected to cultural and military training and deployed at various fronts, such as Taiz, the west coast, Marib and the border.

Some of the recruits have returned to their home countries to expand the Houthi influence there.

Abu Ras and al-Kahlani

The report named Abdulwahed Naji Mohammed Abu Ras, or Abu Hussein, as the Houthis’ top official in expanding their influence in the Horn of Africa. A native of the Jawf province, he was tasked directly by top Iranian political officials and the IRGC in running this file.

Among his major tasks is coordinating with the IRGC and Houthis and directly overseeing the smuggling of IRGC and Hezbollah members from and to Yemen.

Abu Ras has avoided the spotlight for several years during which he has handled the Houthis’ most dangerous intelligence and political files.

He served as secretary of foreign affairs at the security and intelligence agency until Hassan al-Kahlani's appointment to that post. Abu Ras was then promoted to his current position at the recommendation of Houthi leader Abdulmalek al-Houthi and the IRGC leadership.

Al-Kahlani, also known as Abu Shaheed, was born in the Hajjah province in 1984. He is a known Houthi security operative as he grew up among the Houthis in Saada and Sanaa and joined the militias at a young age.

The report said al-Kahlani was part of the Sanaa terrorist cell that carried out several bombings and assassinations in wake of the killing of Houthi founder Hassan al-Houthi in 2004. He was also among the Houthi leaderships that took part in the coup in Sanaa.

Al-Kahlani now works directly under Abu Ras. He is known for his close ties to the IRGC and has been using this relationship to impose himself as the top official in the security and intelligence agency, exposing the struggle for power between him and the actual head of the agency Abdulhakim al-Khiwani.