HRANA – Atash (Zahra) Shakarami has been summoned to the Second Branch of the Criminal Enforcement Office in Khorramabad to receive 38 lashes, following a notice issued for the execution of her sentence.
According to the summons, issued on October 16, Ms. Shakarami has been ordered to appear within ten days to carry out the sentence. She was previously convicted by Branch 106 of the Khorramabad Criminal Court (Category 2) on charges of “spreading falsehoods,” for which she received 38 lashes, and defamation, for which she was fined 51 million tomans. The verdict was later upheld in its entirety by the Court of Appeals. The case originated from a complaint filed by a private plaintiff.
Atash (Zahra) Shakarami, who has a prior record of arrest, is the aunt of Nika Shakarami, one of the victims killed during the nationwide protests of 2022.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) strictly prohibits cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishments such as flogging. Nonetheless, in 2024, HRANA documented at least three cases in which flogging sentences were carried out, totaling 106 lashes. In the same year, the Iranian judiciary sentenced at least 131 individuals to a combined total of 9,957 lashes.
HRANA – Atash Shakarami has been sentenced by the Lorestan Province Court of Appeals to receive 38 lashes.
Ms. Shakarami announced in a public statement that her conviction was recently confirmed in full by the Court of Appeals. She had previously been sentenced by Branch 106 of the Khorramabad Criminal Court (Second Class) to 38 lashes on the charge of “spreading falsehoods.”
Without mentioning specifics of the charges, Ms. Shakarami stated that the case was opened following a private complaint.
Atash Shakarami, who has a prior record of arrest, is the aunt of Nika Shakarami, one of those killed during the 2022 nationwide protests.
The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) strictly prohibits inhumane and degrading punishments such as flogging and amputation.
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.
