Case Filed Against Mahsa Amini's Father for Protesting Death Sentence of Pakhshan Aziz

Amjad Amini, the father of Mahsa Amini, claims he has been accused of 'propaganda against the regime' due to his protest against the death sentence of Pakhshan Aziz, a Kurdish political prisoner. On Friday, January 25, he wrote in a post on Instagram that separate cases have been filed against him in the criminal and revolutionary courts. He further reported that these cases were initiated following an Instagram story he posted for Pakhshan Aziz. Pakhshan Aziz, a social worker and civil rights activist, along with Varishe Moradi, a women's rights activist, have been sentenced to death by the revolutionary court on charges of 'rebellion' for 'membership in groups that have engaged in armed uprising against the Islamic government.' The sentences for these two Kurdish citizens sparked a wave of protests inside and outside Iran, and Radio Farda reported a few days ago that the execution of Ms. Aziz has been temporarily halted. In this context, human rights media, including Hengaw, Hrana, and Kurdpa, have reported ongoing arrests of citizens and activists in Kurdish cities following public strikes in the province. In his continued post on Friday, Mahsa Amini's father noted that while he has been accused of 'propaganda against the regime,' on January 18, he had appeared at the Saqez prosecutor's office with a summons, where the investigating judge only referred to his charge as 'spreading falsehoods.' Amjad Amini stated that despite it being clear that the complainant in this case is the intelligence department, a prosecution order was issued for him 48 hours later. He also mentioned that he has the initial summons from the prosecutor's office, which does not reference his new charge. Previously, Mahsa Amini's father had reacted on his Instagram page to issues such as the anniversary of his daughter's death in the custody of the 'morality police,' the release of Niloufar Hamedi and Elaheh Mohammadi, two journalists from Shargh and Ham-Mihan newspapers, and the death sentence issued against Tomaj Salehi, a protesting rapper. Mahsa Jina Amini, a 22-year-old from Saqez, was arrested in Tehran on September 13, 2022, under the pretext of 'improper hijab' and died in the hospital on September 16 after becoming unconscious and falling into a coma while in detention. Her death triggered an unprecedented wave of protests against the Islamic Republic across Iran, with the central slogan being 'Women, Life, Freedom.'