Mahsa Amini's Father Vows to Commemorate First Anniversary of Daughter's Death

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, near the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, Türkiye(File photo: Reuters)
Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, near the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, Türkiye(File photo: Reuters)
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Mahsa Amini's Father Vows to Commemorate First Anniversary of Daughter's Death

Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, near the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, Türkiye(File photo: Reuters)
Demonstrators shout slogans during a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran, near the Iranian consulate in Istanbul, Türkiye(File photo: Reuters)

Amjad Amini, the father of Mahsa Amini, confirmed that he will commemorate the first anniversary of the killing of his daughter next Saturday, despite the threats he received from the Iranian authorities.

According to information published by Iran International on Thursday, Amjad was summoned to the Intelligence Office in Saqqez several times in the past two days and asked not to commemorate the first anniversary of his daughter’s killing.

They warned the family against holding events on the first anniversary of his daughter's death. Mahsa’s father vowed to go ahead with commemorations at Mahsa's grave.

According to the information, he was interrogated for hours and pressured to cancel the invitation to commemorate the anniversary. He stressed: “I did not accept this at all, and we will hold the ceremony.”

Last week, Mahsa’s parents wrote a post on Instagram saying like any grieving family, they will gather to commemorate the anniversary and will uphold their traditional and religious ceremonies.

Earlier, security forces detained and transferred Mahsa’s uncle to an undisclosed location.

On Tuesday, the regime forces arrested Safa, Mahsa Amini’s maternal uncle, from his home.

In the past five months, as the anniversary of the Iranian protests approached, regime forces arrested at least 80 members of families demanding justice.

Recently, several reports claimed regime armed forces have deployed in Kurdish cities in Iran.

Reports also indicated that security measures have been tightened throughout Iran, especially in the provinces of Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) established checkpoints in Sanandaj in the Kurdistan province.

The Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights reported “thousands” of IRGC special units sent to Amini's hometown of Saqqez, military vehicles deployed, and illegal checkpoints erected in Sanandaj.

Mahsa fell into a coma last year after being arrested by the morality police, and news of her death was published on September 16 in Kasra Hospital.

Hours after her death, several gathered in front of the hospital in protest, and during her funeral, a wave of protests broke out against the Iranian regime.

In the following days, the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement was formed after protests spread throughout the country.

According to human rights organizations, at least 570 citizens were killed in the protests, during which the regime’s armed forces attacked the demonstrators.

Thousands were arrested and sent to prison for participating in or supporting the protests.

Despite the Iranian regime's efforts to suppress protests, several organizations and groups called to organize marches and strikes throughout the country.

Gohar Eshghi, the mother of the 35-year-old blogger Sattar Beheshti, who was killed by the Iranian regime, called on the Iranian people to remember the young people who sacrificed their lives for the country.



Türkiye Presses PKK to Disarm ‘Immediately’

An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
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Türkiye Presses PKK to Disarm ‘Immediately’

An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)
An Iraqi Kurdish woman waves a flag bearing the portrait of the founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah Ocalan as people gather at Freedom Park to listen to an audio message by the jailed leader in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region on February 27, 2025. (AFP)

Türkiye on Thursday insisted the PKK and all groups allied with it must disarm and disband "immediately", a week after a historic call by the Kurdish militant group's jailed founder.

"The PKK and all groups affiliated with it must end all terrorist activities, dissolve and immediately and unconditionally lay down their weapons," a Turkish defense ministry source said.

The remarks made clear the demand referred to all manifestations of Abdullah Ocalan's Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has led a four-decade insurgency against the Turkish state, costing tens of thousands of lives.

Although the insurgency targeted Türkiye, the PKK's leadership is based in the mountains of northern Iraq and its fighters are also part of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a key force in northeastern Syria.

Last week, Ocalan made a historic call urging the PKK to dissolve and his fighters to disarm, with the group on Saturday accepting his call and declaring a ceasefire.

The same day, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned that if the promises were not kept, Turkish forces would continue their anti-PKK operations.

"If the promises given are not kept and an attempt is made to delay... or deceive... we will continue our ongoing operations... until we eliminate the last terrorist," he said.

- Resonance in Syria, Iraq -

Since 2016, Türkiye has carried out three major military operations in northern Syria targeting PKK militants, which it sees as a strategic threat along its southern border.

Ankara has made clear it wants to see all PKK fighters disarmed wherever they are -- notably those in the US-backed SDF, which it sees as part of the PKK.

The SDF -- the bulk of which is made up of the Kurdish YPG -- spearheaded the fight that ousted ISIS extremists from Syria in 2019, and is seen by much of the West as crucial to preventing an extremist resurgence.

Last week, SDF leader Mazloum Abdi welcomed Ocalan's call for the PKK to lay down its weapons but said it "does not concern our forces" in northeastern Syria.

But Türkiye disagrees.

Since the toppling of Syria's Bashar al-Assad in December, Ankara has threatened military action unless YPG militants are expelled, deeming them to be a regional security problem.

"Our fundamental approach is that all terrorist organizations should disarm and be dissolved in Iraq and Syria, whether they are called the PKK, the YPG or the SDF," Omer Celik, spokesman for Erdogan's ruling AKP, said on Monday.

Ocalan's call also affects Iraq, with the PKK leadership holed up in the mountainous north where Turkish forces have staged multiple air strikes in recent years.

Turkish forces have also established numerous bases there, souring Ankara's relationship with Baghdad.

"We don't want either the PKK or the Turkish army on our land... Iraq wants everyone to withdraw," Iraq's national security adviser Qassem al-Araji told AFP.

"Turkish forces are (in Iraq) because of the PKK's presence," he said, while pointing out that Türkiye had "said more than once that it has no territorial ambitions in Iraq".