HRANA News Agency – On January 17, Davoud Haddadinia, a resident of Bahmai County in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, was arrested by security forces upon his return to Iran and transferred to an undisclosed location.
A source close to Mr. Haddadinia’s family confirmed the arrest to HRANA, stating: “Mr. Haddadinia, who had been residing in Turkey, was detained by security forces in the city of Likak, Bahmai, after his return to Iran.” No details have yet emerged regarding the reasons for his arrest, the charges against him, or his current location.
Previously, on December 19, 2023, the Revolutionary Court of Boyer-Ahmad County sentenced Mr. Haddadinia to six months in prison on charges of “propaganda against the regime.”
In another case, after being arrested on February 17, 2024, Mr. Haddadinia was sentenced by Criminal Court Branch 101 in Likak to three months and one day in prison for “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran on social media, specifically via Instagram.” His sentence was later reduced to two months and nine days following an appeal and accounting for time already served in detention.
Mr. Haddadinia has faced multiple arrests and legal proceedings due to his activities. During the first anniversary of Mahsa (Jina) Amini’s death, he was detained by security forces in Bahmai County. He was released on bail on October 9, 2023.
The Criminal Court in Likak City, Bahmai County, has issued a three-month prison sentence for both Davoud Haddadi-Nia and Fardin Chireh-Nejad. Haddadi-Nia’s sentence, however, was reduced to two months and nine days after entering a plea of no contest.
A source close to their families, confirming these verdicts to HRANA, revealed that the individuals were convicted of “spreading propaganda against the regime on Instagram.”
Haddadi-Nia and Chireh-Nejad were apprehended by security forces at Chireh-Nejad’s workplace on February 17, 2024.
Haddadi-Nia has a history of prior arrests and legal confrontations due to his activism. On September 16, 2023, coinciding with the first anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death, he was arrested by security forces and released from Dehdasht prison on October 9, 2023.
On Saturday, September 16, Fardin Parisaie was apprehended by security forces in Dehdasht and subsequently transported to an undisclosed location.
Parisaie’s arrest coincided with the anniversary of the tragic passing of Mahsa (Jina) Amini. As of now, neither the grounds for his arrest nor his current whereabouts have been disclosed.
HRANA previously reported the arrestof twelve individuals by security forces on the same day in Dehdasht, Yasuj, and Bahmai, located in the Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Province.
Protests have erupted across Iran after the government unexpectedly announced it is rationing petrol and increasing its price. The protests took place across the country following the decision of the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, at midnight of November 14, 2019, to cut petrol subsidies to raise funds for social assistance to the poor. Petrol price was increased to a minimum of 15,000 Rials per liter, 50% increase from the day before.
Nationwide protests in the last three days were in at least 48 cities such as: Ahvaz, Shooshtar, Dezful, Gachsaran, Abadan, Khorramshahr, Bandar Mahshahr, Rasht, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Gorgan, Khorramabad, Qom, Ilam, Karaj, Sanandaj, Dorud, Qazvin, Arak, Mahdi Shahr, Garmsar, Shahroud, Najafabad, Mariwan, Tehran, Tabriz, Ardabil, Urmia, Saveh, Pasargadae, Qods (Qal’eh Hasan Khan), Varamin, Sari, Yasuj, Qaemshahr, Shahrekord, Malek Shahr, Parand, Damavand, Pol Dokhtar, Neyshabur, Sarepol Zahab, Kahnooj, Yazd, Bandar Bushehr, Bahmai, Shahriar, etc. They are still ongoing in several cities.
Peaceful demonstrations turned violent in Sanandaj, Mahshahr, and Shiraz, with online videos purporting to show police officers firing teargas at protesters and mobs setting fires. Several people were injured or killed in the first three days of protests as a result of the police’s direct shots. On November 17, 2019, students of Tehran University and Tabriz University protested inside the university. Shops at Tehran Grand Bazaar went on strike on November 17, 2019.
The protests started on November 15, 2019, and are still ongoing. The arrest of more than 1000 people across the country was confirmed. More than 150 banks and supermarkets were set on fire and a police officer was killed. Two Hawzas -a seminary where Shi’a Muslim clerics are educated- were set on fire in Shiraz and Kazerun. According to unconfirmed reports, at least 36 people were killed in Sirjan, Shiraz, Behbahan, Marivan, Khoramshahr, Isfahan, and Shahriar.
According to Fars News, protests were held in 100 cities and at least 100 banks and 57 supermarkets were set on fire. Based on this report, the number of protesters were 87400 from which 82200 are men and 5200 women. At least 1000 people were arrested. Yazd prosecutor confirmed the arrest of 40 people in the city of Yazd. Bam Prosecutor also confirmed the arrest of 15 people in the city of Bam. The prosecutor of Robat Karim confirmed the arrest of 34 protesters for vandalism. According to Mohammad Reza Amoui, Kermanshah’s chief of Law Enforcement Force of the Islamic Republic of Iran, on November 16, Major Iraj Javaheri was killed fighting with protesters in Kermanshah. A journalist resided in Mariwan, Adnan Hasanpour, reported that security forces shot people directly and at least seven people were killed in Javanrud, one person was killed in Sanandaj, and several people were injured. According to unconfirmed reports, 15 of the killed people are identified as following:
Meisam Adgipour, Khaled Maniat, Ali Ghazlavy, Milad Hamidavi, Ali Boghlani, Hamzeh Savari, Mohammad Asafi Zargani, Ehsan Abdollahnejad, Mehdi Nikouei, Osman Naderi, Mehran Tak, Shahou Validi, Javad Nazari Fathabadi, Mehrdad Dashtizadeh, Mohammad Hossein Ghanavati.
Iran has almost completely shut off access to the internet across the country. On November 16, 2019, by the approval of the National Security Supreme Council, the government has completely blocked Internet access in Iran to stymie protests. Due to the internet shut down and the lack of access to freelance reporters and citizen journalists, confirming news about demonstrations and deaths is difficult. It also caused difficulty for Iranian citizens to have access to news agencies websites. On Monday, November 18, schools are closed in 17 cities across Iran:
Shiraz, Kazerun, Alborz, Fereydun, Fereydun Shahr, Farsan, Kuhrang, Laran, Taleqan, Astara, and Najafabad. In addition, universities are closed in Shiraz.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has backed petrol price increases claiming opponents of the Islamic Republic and foreign enemies were guilty of sabotage and not ordinary people. According to Khabar Online, Mojtaba Zonnour, a parliament member representing Qom, is collecting parliament members signatures to impeach Ali Larijani, the head of parliament. He gathered 50 signatures so far. Mohammad Qasim Osmani, a parliament member representing Bukan, filed his resignation and added that he resigned to announce that he was not involved in this decision [raising petrol price]. Today, with respect to Ayatollah Khamenei’s views, the Ministry of Intelligence announced that the protesters will face harsh punishments. Reportedly, people received threatening text messages in Khuzestan and Karaj from the prosecutor’s offices of their province. People were warned about attending protests and not to disturb public order and facilitate the abuse of opposition groups.
