Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the nationwide Jin Jiyan Azadi (Woman Life Freedom) uprisings, sparked by the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Jina Mahsa Amini, after she was detained by the country’s morality police.
*Updated at 20:10 (CET)
The Iranian people took to the streets in large numbers on Saturday, despite the increased presence of Iranian security forces in areas where protests were expected. They marked the anniversary of Jina Amini’s death by chanting slogans of “Jin Jiyan Azadi” and “Death to the Dictator”.
As people protested against the regime and women tore off their hijabs, reports of casualties began to circulate on social media. The internet was also cut in some regions.
Clashes between groups of protesters and security forces broke out by midday.
In the religious city of Mashhad in the north-east of Iran, demonstrators took to the streets to show their support for the protests. Some drivers honked their horns in solidarity.
Earlier in the day, a video from Mashhad showed clashes, with a man saying protesters were confronting security forces. Backup forces were unable to reach the square due to heavy traffic.
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People gathered at the grave of Jina Amini, singing traditional Kurdish melodies near her hometown of Saqqez.
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Security forces blocked the road between the predominantly Kurdish cities of Baneh and Saqqez, Jina Amini’s hometown, to restrict the movement of people.
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Amjad Amini, Jina’s father, was released shortly after his arrest in the early hours of the morning as he left his home in Saqqez, only to be placed under house arrest later in the day. The area around Amini’s home remains under lockdown.
He has reportedly been threatened while in custody in an attempt to disrupt plans for a memorial event in his daughter’s honour.
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Cities in Kurdish-populated regions in Iran’s west, known as Rojhilat, staged a coordinated shutdown in protest against the Iranian government. Videos recorded during the day depicted a significant number of closed shops, as business owners joined forces to voice their opposition.
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Students from four universities in Tehran have issued statements in support of the protests, stressing that the women’s rights protests represent a ‘public outpouring of frustration against the Islamic Republic’.
University students have played a prominent role in the protests, with many having been arrested and banned from continuing their studies for speaking out against the regime and refusing to comply with mandatory hijab rules on campus.
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The Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN) reported that security forces surrounded the entrance to the Behesht-e-Mohammadi cemetery in Sanandaj and forcibly removed some of the families of the protest victims.
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Security forces arrested Rezan Saedi and Moayyed Saedi, the aunt and brother of Sarina Saedi, a child killed during the anti-government protests in Sanandaj, and Omid Niyazi, the brother of Mohsen Niyazi, who was killed during the protests in Dehgolan. The arrests took place in the cities of Sanandaj and Dehgolan in Kurdistan province. There is currently no information on the charges against these individuals or their current whereabouts.
In recent weeks, Iranian security and judicial institutions have increased pressure on the families of the victims of the protests. The families have reportedly been threatened not to publish calls to organise events to commemorate the anniversary.
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On Saturday morning, the government’s crackdown escalated when security forces detained Jina’s father, Amjad Amini, as he left his home for the commemoration, according to the Norway-based human rights group Hengaw.
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In Tehran and Tabriz, where large demonstrations are expected, security forces have blocked roads leading to the graves of demonstrators killed during last year’s protests to prevent commemorations from turning into anti-regime rallies.
Exclusive to Hengaw: On Thursday, September 14, 2023, government armed forces erected barricades on the streets of #Bijar and obstructed public roads within the city.
The cities in Kurdistan have experienced an atmosphere of intimidation and the declaration of a state of war in… pic.twitter.com/rrbJPWn2we
— Hengaw Organization for Human Rights (@Hengaw_English) September 14, 2023
The Iranian government has already stepped up its crackdown on the opposition in recent weeks. On Friday, heavily armed military forces were deployed in restive areas, particularly in cities with a Kurdish majority, and anti-riot police forces have mushroomed on the streets of major cities. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps helicopters were reported to be hovering over these areas.
