Detained Participants of International Women's Day Gathering in Tehran Spent the Night in Custody

According to reports from Tehran, most of those who were detained on Thursday, March 8, in front of the Ministry of Labor spent the night in detention. Social media reports indicate that the number of detainees on Thursday exceeded 80, and relatives of some of them gathered in front of the detention center on Vezarat Street in Tehran on Thursday night. Based on some reports, more than 10 of the detainees were released on Thursday night, while others spent the night in custody. Reports of the release of several more individuals on Friday morning have also emerged. However, one eyewitness told Radio Farda on Friday morning that according to a list read out in front of the detention center, Shahla Entesari, Zohreh Asadpour, Banafsheh Jamali, Parastoo Alahyari, Azadeh Behkish, Azar Gilani, Peyman Chehraz, Ali Salem, Bahar Aslani, Javad Abbasi Toleli, Soudeh Rakhsh, and Kaveh Rostamkhani remain in custody. Iranian judicial and security officials have not commented on the number and charges of the detainees, and only Roozbeh Korduni, the head of the public relations department of the Ministry of Labor, stated on Thursday evening to the ISNA news agency that the detention of 'two journalists' is being pursued at the instruction of the Minister of Labor. Earlier, the Shargh newspaper confirmed that two of its journalists, Soudeh Rakhsh and Ali Salem, were detained in front of the Ministry of Labor. On Thursday, coinciding with International Women's Day, the police prevented a gathering in front of the Ministry of Labor building, and reports indicate that some of them were detained with violence. The call for the gathering in front of the Ministry of Labor was published on social media several days before International Women's Day. According to a Telegram channel known as 'Call for March 8 Gathering,' many of the demonstrators faced 'violence from police forces, plainclothes agents, and motorcyclists' before reaching the gathering location and were dispersed. The channel reported that those who were detained in the initial moments included 59 women and 25 men. The purpose of the gathering was declared to be 'protesting against inequality, injustice, and the unfavorable conditions of women, especially in the job market,' and expressing dissatisfaction and protest 'against the dire situation of women and the violation of their human and social rights.' This year, the gathering on March 8 was prevented while public protests by some women in various cities of Iran against mandatory hijab continue, and several protesters known as 'Girls of Revolution Street' have been arrested. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, referred to the protests against mandatory hijab as 'petty' and attributed them to 'enemies' in his first statement regarding the protests.