Continued Wave of Widespread Arrests in Iran; Hassan Nayeb Hashem: A Sign of Government Fear

As the wave of widespread arrests continues in Iran, with the Islamic Republic imprisoning dozens of political, civil, and social activists in recent days, pressure has also increased on women's rights activists, opponents of mandatory hijab, and figures like Sepideh Rashno. Dr. Hassan Nayeb Hashem, a physician and human rights defender, explained the current situation in Iran in an interview with Voice of America. Mr. Nayeb Hashem states: "The regime presents itself as powerful and invincible, but it knows that the situation is very unfavorable and could collapse at any moment, which is why it tries not to retreat on important issues, such as mandatory hijab, which has an ideological aspect for the Islamic Republic." He adds: "It is said that the leader of the regime has four red lines that he will not retreat from, one of which is mandatory hijab. If the leader of the Islamic Republic shows some flexibility in certain cases and drinks the so-called cup of poison, he does not retreat on these four issues, one of which is mandatory hijab, because he knows that the consequences will continue and reach other stages." Hassan Nayeb Hashem says: "Of course, he has no qualms about using unveiled women as tools when necessary, as we see unveiled women participating in the victory march of the revolution and having the right to vote without hijab in elections." He continues: "But overall, the government wants to maintain its position and knows that it is very vulnerable in this specific case, which is why it harshly deals with women like Sepideh Rashno, Sepideh Ghalean, and Narges Mohammadi, the Nobel Prize winner, who remain steadfast in their positions despite all pressures." Regarding the onset of a new wave of arrests in Iran, including the widespread detention of civil activists, Mr. Nayeb Hashem states: "The jails filling up with civil activists and political and ideological prisoners is certainly not beneficial for the Islamic Republic. However, it takes this action because there are two weeks left until the elections, and on the other hand, we have a month and a half until the approval of an important resolution in the UN Human Rights Council that extends the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on Iran and the activities of the fact-finding committee." He adds: "At this stage, the Islamic Republic believes that any movement in society could be dangerous for the regime, which is why it has taken widespread arrest actions. We do not exactly know what charges Azerbaijani activists were arrested under, but this is the third wave of arrests of Azerbaijani activists this year, based on previous fabricated cases." Mr. Nayeb Hashem states: "The number of detainees across the country is so extensive, including the recent arrests of Azerbaijani activists, that we are on the 508th day of our sit-in in front of the United Nations, and we do not even have the opportunity to publish images of the prisoners and inform about their situation. We are faced with such a government that, due to fear that something may happen in the next six critical weeks that it cannot maintain its position, takes such actions."