Iran's Security Forces Briefly Detain Mahsa Amini's Father

Young protesters flash the V sign during a rally marking the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in custody, Reddacliff Place, Brisbane, Australia, 16 September 2023. EPA/JONO SEARLE
Young protesters flash the V sign during a rally marking the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in custody, Reddacliff Place, Brisbane, Australia, 16 September 2023. EPA/JONO SEARLE
TT

Iran's Security Forces Briefly Detain Mahsa Amini's Father

Young protesters flash the V sign during a rally marking the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in custody, Reddacliff Place, Brisbane, Australia, 16 September 2023. EPA/JONO SEARLE
Young protesters flash the V sign during a rally marking the one-year anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death in custody, Reddacliff Place, Brisbane, Australia, 16 September 2023. EPA/JONO SEARLE

The father of Mahsa Amini was briefly detained on Saturday, human rights groups said, amid a heavy security force presence on the first anniversary of his daughter's death in Iranian police custody that sparked months of anti-government protests.

Amjad Amini was warned against marking the anniversary of his daughter's death before being released, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network said.

Iran's official IRNA news agency denied that Amjad Amini was arrested, but it did not say if he was briefly detained or warned.

Earlier, social media and reports by rights groups spoke of security forces taking up positions around Amini's home in Saqez, in western Iran.

The death of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman in the custody of the morality police last year for allegedly flouting the mandatory dress code triggered months of protests that represented the biggest show of opposition to the authorities in years.

Many called for an end to more than four decades of clerical rule.

According to social media posts, Amini's parents had said in a statement earlier this week that, despite government warnings, they would hold a "traditional and religious anniversary ceremony" at their 22-year-old daughter's grave in Saqez.

A massive security force presence was deployed in Iran's mostly Kurdish areas on Saturday in anticipation of unrest, according to human rights groups.

Widespread strikes were also reported in multiple cities in Iran's Kurdistan region.

However, IRNA said Amini's hometown of Saqez was "completely quiet" and that calls for strike in Kurdish areas had failed due to "people's vigilance and the presence of security and military forces.”

It quoted an official in the Kurdistan province as saying: "A number of agents affiliated with counter-revolutionary groups who had planned to create chaos and prepare media fodder were arrested in the early hours of this morning."

In the protests that followed Amini's death more than 500 people, including 71 minors, were killed, hundreds injured and thousands arrested, rights groups said. Iran carried out seven executions linked to the unrest.



Top EU Officials Visit Ukraine in Show of Solidarity

01 December 2024, Ukraine, Kiev: Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanischyna (L) welcomes the new EU Council President Antonio Costa, the new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas (2nd L), and the new EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos (R) upon their arrival in Kyiv, a few hours after taking office. Photo: Ansgar Haase/dpa
01 December 2024, Ukraine, Kiev: Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanischyna (L) welcomes the new EU Council President Antonio Costa, the new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas (2nd L), and the new EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos (R) upon their arrival in Kyiv, a few hours after taking office. Photo: Ansgar Haase/dpa
TT

Top EU Officials Visit Ukraine in Show of Solidarity

01 December 2024, Ukraine, Kiev: Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanischyna (L) welcomes the new EU Council President Antonio Costa, the new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas (2nd L), and the new EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos (R) upon their arrival in Kyiv, a few hours after taking office. Photo: Ansgar Haase/dpa
01 December 2024, Ukraine, Kiev: Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanischyna (L) welcomes the new EU Council President Antonio Costa, the new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas (2nd L), and the new EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos (R) upon their arrival in Kyiv, a few hours after taking office. Photo: Ansgar Haase/dpa

European Council President Antonio Costa and Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, arrived in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Sunday, using the first day in their new roles to send a message of support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Their visit comes as Ukraine struggles to fend off a grinding Russian offensive and faces the uncertainty of US policy toward Kyiv when Donald Trump takes office next month, Reuters reported.
"From day one of the war, the EU has stood by the side of Ukraine," Costa posted on X alongside an image of himself, Kallas and EU enlargement chief Marta Kos arriving via train.

"From day one of our mandate, we are reaffirming our unwavering support to the Ukrainian people."
Both Kallas and Costa have been strong supporters of Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 invasion. However, neither can make specific pledges of further aid, requiring the support of the EU's national governments.
The EU says its institutions and member countries have made available some $133 billion in Ukraine aid since the start of the war, but future support remains uncertain especially if Trump reduces US support.
Trump has criticized the scale of aid for Kyiv and has said he will seek a swift end to the war, but without specifying exactly how.
On the battlefield, Moscow's troops are capturing village after village in a drive to eventually seize the industrial Donbas region, while Russian airstrikes are targeting Ukraine's hobbled energy grid as winter sets in.
"In my first visit since taking up office, my message is clear: the European Union wants Ukraine to win this war," Kallas wrote on X. "We will do whatever it takes for that."
As prime minister of Estonia, which borders Russia, Kallas emerged as one of the most vociferous critics of Russia. Moscow this year put her on a wanted list for destroying Soviet-era monuments.
Costa, a former prime minister of Portugal, is tasked with coordinating the work of the European Union's national leaders and chairing their summits as president of the European Council.
At a ceremony in Brussels on Friday, he said everyone was yearning for peace after more than 1,000 days of the Ukraine-Russia war, "especially the embattled and heroic Ukrainian people".
"Peace cannot mean capitulation. Peace must not reward the aggressor," he added.