Arrest of Two Family Members of a Deceased Protester on His Birthday

Ahmad Hassan-Zadeh, along with his daughter Solmaz Hassan-Zadeh, the father and sister of Mohammad Hassan-Zadeh, a victim of the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement, were arrested by security forces on the anniversary of his birth. Relatives of this grieving family confirmed the arrests to Radio Farda. The Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported on Tuesday, August 1, that intelligence agents in the city of Boukan stormed the home of 57-year-old Ahmad Hassan-Zadeh, arresting him and his 30-year-old daughter Solmaz and taking them to an unknown location. August 1 was Mohammad's birthday, and the family was preparing to hold a birthday ceremony for their deceased child. Relatives of this grieving family told Radio Farda that the intelligence agents stormed their home without presenting any legal documents, and during the arrest, they beat Mohammad's father and sister, and severely assaulted his mother as well. Ahmad Hassan-Zadeh and his daughter were also arrested in September of last year. Solmaz Hassan-Zadeh was arrested on October 27 of last year along with three of her friends while traveling from Boukan to Saqqez. Hengaw writes that Mohammad Hassan-Zadeh was killed on the evening of November 16, 2022, during public protests in Boukan while attempting to free a girl who had been abducted by government repressive forces, suffering multiple stab wounds and a bullet wound to his chest and heart from government forces. Ali Adineh-Zadeh, the father of Abolfazl Adineh-Zadeh, a 16-year-old killed in the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests, was also arrested on August 1 this year. Mr. Adineh-Zadeh had announced two days earlier on his Instagram story that he had been summoned by the first branch of the Revolutionary Court in Quchan. Abolfazl Adineh-Zadeh, 16, was killed on Saturday, October 8, 2022, during protests outside Ferdowsi University in Mashhad by gunfire from Islamic Republic security forces at close range, resulting in dozens of pellet wounds. During the nationwide "Women, Life, Freedom" protests, reports from human rights organizations indicate that over five hundred people were killed by the security forces of the Islamic Republic. The Islamic Republic has not only failed to hold accountable those responsible for this massacre but has also arrested and executed other protesters on charges of killing its own security forces during these protests. The severe government crackdown and the risk of protests going "underground".