A Comprehensive Report of the First 82 days of Nationwide Protests in Iran

  HRANA – Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old young woman, was arrested by the morality police for the crime of improper hijab. Her arrest and death in detention fueled nationwide protests in Iran. Protesters came to the streets with the central slogan “Women, Life, Freedom” in protest against the performance, laws, and structure of the regime. The following 486-page report is dedicated to the statistical review, analysis, and summary of the first eighty-two days of the ongoing protests (September 17 to December 7, 2022). In this report, in addition to the geographic analysis and the presentation of maps and charts, the identity of 481 deceased, including 68 children and teenagers, an estimated of 18,242 arrested along with the identity of 3,670 arrested citizens, 605 students and 61 journalists or activists in the field of information is compiled. In addition, the report includes a complete collection of 1988 verified video reports by date and topic. The report examines protests across 1115 documented gatherings in all 31 provinces of the country, including 160 cities and 143 universities.

Summary

Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a young 22-year-old woman from Saqqez, Kurdistan was visiting Tehran, when she was taken into custody on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, by the Morality Police officers at the Haqqani metro station in Tehran. The reason for her arrest: not properly observing the strict Islamic dress code. Mahsa/Zhina was taken to the infamous detention center of Moral Security Police known as Vozara.
Shortly after Mahsa’s arrest, she went into a coma with level three concussion, and her partially alive body was transferred to the intensive care unit of Kasra Hospital. Given the track record of the police and Guidance Patrols in mistreating the arrestees and similar previous incidents, with the believe that Mahsa was beaten during the arrest people were outraged.

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Unpersuasive explanations given by the Central Command of the Islamic Republic Police Force (FARAJA) in defense of its actions regarding the death of Mahsa, the past performance of the police force, along with widespread dissatisfaction with the existence of a body called the Moral Security Police, fueled widespread protests in Iran.
The widespread protests sparked at the time Mahsa Amini was announced dead in front of Kasra Hospital on Argentina Street in Tehran, and then quickly spread to the streets despite the intimidating presence of Iran’s security forces. The protests intensified after Mahsa’s burial in a Saqqez cemetery. To the extent that after eighty-two days of nationwide protests between September 17, 2022, to December 7, 2022, they have spread to Iran’s all 31 provinces, 160 cities, and 143 major universities.
The protests did not stay limited to Mahsa’s death, it rather, quickly targeted the Iranian government’s political and ideological foundations. These protests were violently quashed by the anti-riot police and Iran’s militia force (Basij). teargas, pellets, and live ammunition were used in the repression of protestors. This widespread crackdown has led to the death of dozens of people and the wounding of hundreds of protestors.
Despite sever communication restrictions imposed by the Islamic Republic, this report attempts to give a clearer picture of the first 82 days of the protests between September 17, to December 7, 2022. It’s worth mentioning at the time of this report the protests are still ongoing in various forms.

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For further inquiries please contact Skylar Thompson, Senior Advocacy Coordinator Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRA) at [email protected]

Seven Behbahani Citizens Sentenced to a Total of Five Years and Six Months In Prison

The Revolutionary Court of Bandar Mahshahr issued prison sentences against seven Behbahani citizens who were arrested during the June 2020 protests in the city. Narges Deram-Gozin, Masoud Seddighnia, Ebrahim Armish, Morteza Vahdani, Zeynab Alipour, Vahb Ramin and Jalal Jafari have been sentenced to a total of 5 years and 6 months in prison. The conviction against Jafari has been suspended for 5 years.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, the people mentioned above were notified of their sentence on February 19. Deram-Gozin, Seddighnia, Armish and Alipour were sentenced to 1 year on the charge of “propaganda against the regime”. Vahdani, Ramin, and Jafari were sentenced to six months for the same charge. Jafari’s conviction has been suspended for 5 years.

Earlier, in another legal case, Farzaneh Ansarifar, who was also indicted in this case, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison. Two others Behbahan citizens, Ali and Maryam Kazemi, have also been sentenced to a combined two years in prison.

On July 16, 2020, Behbahan’s citizens protested in Banke Melli Square in Behbahan against “poor economic conditions” and “death sentences against those who were arrested during the protest of November 2019”. Many people were arrested during the protests or thereafter at their homes.

During the protest of November 2019 in Behbahan city, security forces used live ammunition against protestors which led to the death of several protestors including Mehrdad Dashinia, Mahmood Dashtinia, Farzad Ansarifar, Mohammad-Hossein Ghanavati and Mohammad Hashamdar.

A Juvenile Offender Executed in Bushehr

HRANA News Agency – Ali Kazemi, a prisoner who had been sentenced to death at the age of 15 when he was charged with murder, was executed in Bushehr Prison, at noon on December 31. It is said that the prisoner was alive for an hour after the verdict was executed and he eventually died in the hospital.

According to the report of Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran (HRANA), the death sentence of Ali Kazemi, juvenile offender, was carried out in Bushehr Prison, at noon on December 31. Continue reading “A Juvenile Offender Executed in Bushehr”