Workers Continue To Protest In Iran

They are required to appear in Branch One of the Evin Courthouse tomorrow to receive sentences of three years and six months in jail.

The charges include “conspiracy against the system”, “engaging in anti-establishment propaganda activities.” These vague charges are routinely applied not only to protesters, but critics or artists, writers and journalists who make statements contrary to regime’s agenda.

They also face two years of travel ban, and two years of prohibition from joining groups and political parties.

Zeinab Rahimi, an environmental journalist, has also revealed that a case has been initiated against her. The charges include "spreading lies and harming public chastity." Accompanied by her lawyer, Rahimi appeared in the Culture and Media Courthouse on Sunday. After being informed of the charges, she was released on bail pending the final verdict.

Mahnaz Moazen, a journalist and translator, is also still in custody and facing uncertainty five days after her arrest. Moazen was apprehended on Thursday by security forces and transferred to an undisclosed location.

Economic reporter Maryam Shokrani took to social media on Saturday, stating, "A new case has been filed against me in Branch 16 of the Culture and Media Courthouse in Tehran. I don't even know the subject of the complaint."

The International Federation of Journalists reports that during the uprising against the Islamic Republic which began last September, at least 100 journalists in Iran have been detained, with over 21 of them receiving sentences totaling 77 years in prison.

The prince made the remarks after being honored with the Outspoken Award from the Log Cabin Republicans, an organization affiliated with the Republican Party dedicated to advocating for equal rights for LGBTQ+ Americans.

Pahlavi emphasized his pride in standing up for the rights of the Iranian LGBTQ community. He acknowledged the courage of his compatriots inside Iran, stating that “it is my brave compatriots inside Iran who truly deserve this honor because they are not only speaking out for their freedom. They are fighting for it. And they are not only fighting to free themselves; they are fighting to free the region and the world from the clutches of this regime and to usher in a new era of peace.”

The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR), known for promoting LGBTQ+ rights within the Republican Party, presented Prince Reza Pahlavi with the Outspoken Award on Sunday.

The Iranian LGBTQ community has played a pivotal role in the Women, Life, Freedom uprising, actively participating in both domestic and international protests. Despite facing the threat of execution and other forms of punishment under the laws of the Islamic Republic, LGBTQ individuals in Iran continue to bravely confront such dangers.

Iranian authorities have, in the past, employed derogatory labels and stigmatization when addressing LGBTQ citizens, referring to them as "deviant" and "sick" based on Islamic laws that prohibit same-sex relations.

The family of Yalda Agha-Afzali, a young girl who died in suspicious circumstances at her home on November 11 last year in Tehran, five days after being released from prison, are among the families who have cancelled their plans for both private and public ceremonies without any explanation.

Mehrdad Agha-Afzali, Yalda’s father, in an Instagram post Thursday announced that all plans to commemorate her daughter on Friday as previously announced were canceled.

According to social media reports, security forces on Friday denied access, including to her family, to the section of the cemetery where the young girl is buried. A few members of the family and some supporters only managed to visit the grave after nightfall and light candles for her when security forces left.

The 19-year-old, who was arrested during protests in Tehran on October 26, went on a hunger strike at the notorious Qarchak Prison and was freed on November 6. She said she was proud she had not surrendered to pressures to accept any wrongdoing or regret for participating in protests despite having been beaten up.

After her death, authorities claimed the cause of death had been “meta-amphetamine overdose”. She was buried at Tehran’s Behesht-e Zahra Cemetery under very heavy security measures the next day.

An audio file of her conversation with a friend after her release from prison emerged on social media later -- in which she happily said she was proud she had not broken under pressure in prison – gave rise to suspicions over authorities’ explanation of her death or suicide.

The family have been under great pressure since her death by intelligence agencies. Unknown individuals vandalized her grave several times and broke her engraved stone image above it. 

At least four other imprisoned young protesters – Maryam Arvin in Sirjan, Arshia Emamgholizadeh in Jolfa, Mina Yaghoubi in Arak, and Abbas Mansouri in Shoush – reportedly committed suicide within a few days after being released from prison last year.

The Pirfalak family has also been under similar pressure about holding anniversary ceremonies for their nine-year-old son, Kian, whose killing on November 15, 2022, in Izeh in southern Iran sparked nationwide outrage, earning the regime the title “child-killer”.

They were forced to hold the ceremony, under tight security measures last week, a week before the actual anniversary. Security forces prevented many who tried to attend by blocking the road.

Kian’s father, has posted a video of the low-key ceremony which shows him on a wheelchair and Kian’s mother, an a number of others, wailing at his grave.

Kian was shot multiple times in the family car during a night of protests. His father, Meysam, was also seriously injured and has been confined to a wheelchair since the incident.

Kian’s mother, Zeynab (Mah-Monir) Molaei-Rad, became a national icon of resistance after making a fiery speech at her son’s burial in which she conveyed a strong message of protest against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who she says was directly responsible for her son’s killing.

The defiant family’s woes became even worse when security forces shot Kian’s 18-year-old cousin Pouya Molaei-Rad on June 11 while he was trying to break their cordon in the family’s home village of Parchestan to reach Kian’s grave to commemorate his 10th birthday.

After his death, security forces had refuse to release his body for burial for days as they demanded the silence of Kian’s mother and other family members on social media.

In the past few months Kian’s mother, once very active on social media, has been silent and rarely appears in public.

Since September 2022, when widespread anti-regime protests broke out, security forces have killed well over 500 civilians and severely wounded hundreds. Many young protesters were targeted by shotgun pellets in the face and lost one or both eyes.

Amir Raisian, Salehi's legal representative, revealed last week that the singer has suffered injuries to his right foot, left hand fingers, and right eye due to assaults during his detention, with his right foot now reportedly requiring surgery.

He said that further restrictions have been imposed on the artist following his complaints against authorities and certain media outlets which he says have disseminated false information about him.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on Sunday that Salehi is incarcerated without adherence to the principle of segregating prisoners based on their crimes.

According to HRANA, Salehi is denied the right to receive items from outside the prison, and he is also barred from participating in sports activities within the confines of the prison.

Salehi gained fame for his artistic contributions to the anti-government movement. He was violently arrested by the intelligence ministry in Esfahan (Isfahan) province in October last year amid the nationwide protests. Sources indicate that he has endured severe torture during his time in custody and was coerced into making televised confessions.

Calls for Salehi's release have been intensifying in recent months. On Friday, coinciding with his court verdict, over 150 global politicians, institutions, and political figures joined forces in an open letter, urging for the immediate and unconditional release of the Iranian artist.

From Iran International reports, the members of the minority group, one of the most persecuted in Iran, endured verbal abuse and physical assault during the raids.

Last month, another ten Baha'is, all women, were arrested in Esfahan (Isfahan), while 26 others faced severe sentences totaling 126 years in prison. A disturbing trend has seen at least 32 individuals detained across various cities in the country in the past month.

Homes housing five elderly women aged between 70 and 90 in Hamedan were subjected to raids. One of these women, grappling with Alzheimer's disease, was rushed to the ICU in distress following the assault. In a separate incident, the door of an 82-year-old woman's home was forcibly broken, her belongings upended, and her residence damaged in her absence.

The husbands of two of these women were among the more than 200 Baha'is executed by Iran's government in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Details on charges against the detained Baha'is and their current locations remain elusive.

In September, a statement from the Baha'i community in America revealed the ongoing suppression of Baha'is in Iran. The release disclosed the detention of 60 individuals and the seizure of properties belonging to 59 other Baha'is. Despite unofficial estimates indicating the presence of over 300,000 Baha'i citizens in Iran, the country's constitution officially recognizes only Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism. The Baha'i is the largest non-Muslim religious minority, facing systematic persecution since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.