Exclusive: Ministry of Intelligence Prevents Mahsa Amini's Family from Traveling to Receive Sakharov Prize

A relative of Mahsa Amini's family told Voice of America on Saturday, December 9, that their travel to Strasbourg, France was prevented "at the request of the Ministry of Intelligence." Amjad Amini, Mojgan Eftekhari, Mahsa's parents, and Ashkan Amini, Mahsa Amini's brother, were set to travel to France on Friday night, December 8, to attend the Sakharov Prize ceremony awarded to Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, invited by the European Union. However, Islamic Republic security agents at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport stopped them from traveling and confiscated their passports. The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, known as the Sakharov Prize, is awarded annually to individuals or groups who dedicate their lives to defending human rights and freedom of thought. This award was given to Mahsa Amini and the "Women, Life, Freedom" movement by the European Union in October of this year. Mahsa Amini's death in police custody in September of last year sparked widespread protests in Iran, which were met with government repression. Since then, several detained protesters have received death sentences and prison terms. A relative of Mahsa Amini, who requested anonymity, stated that "despite the fact that the invitation for Zhina's family to travel to Europe had previously been communicated to the governorate and the Kurdistan provincial administration and other relevant institutions, no one announced that they were banned from leaving the country." They added that "after Mahsa Amini's father, mother, and brother arrived at Tehran International Airport, received their boarding passes and checked in their luggage, they were informed at the passport police section that they were banned from leaving and their passports were confiscated." According to this source, "the officers claimed ignorance about the reason for the family's travel ban" and instructed them to visit the Tehran Passport Office the following morning to retrieve their original passports. The report noted that the Passport Office also claimed ignorance of the situation and the Amini family was directed to the building of the Tehran Prosecutor's Office. This source added that Amjad Amini, along with his lawyer, went to the Tehran Prosecutor's Office, where the deputy prosecutor's office informed them that "your family has been banned from leaving until the end of this calendar month at the request of the agent (Ministry of Intelligence), and if this ban is not extended after this time, the passports will be returned."