Government Forces Attack Memorial Ceremony for Mehrshad Shahidinejad in Arak

Amir Shahidinejad, the father of Mehrshad Shahidinejad, one of the victims of the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests in Arak, reported on Sunday via his account on "X" about the government forces' attack on a "limited" memorial ceremony for his son and the arrest of at least one attendee. He wrote: "November 4 was the anniversary of the martyrdom of my dear Mehrshad, which could not be held due to certain restrictions and the siege of the grave and its surroundings by security forces. Ultimately, a limited ceremony for Mehrshad was held on November 5, during which one of the guests named Hossein Hosseinkhani was violently arrested, and they sprayed pepper spray on me as well." He added: "One of the agents was filming to create fear among the people, and another agent was throwing the flowers gifted to Mehrshad's grave into a trash can." Amir Shahidinejad further clarified: "There is a possibility that other individuals were also arrested at this ceremony, but I have no information about the fate of any potential detainees; I only know that the reason for Mr. Hossein Hosseinkhani's arrest was his request to stand next to Mehrshad's grave." Mehrshad Shahidinejad, born in 2002, was a student from Arak and a chef at one of the city's restaurants, who lost his life during the protests in Arak last November, coinciding with the "40th day of Mahsa Amini." Some eyewitnesses stated that this young protester was killed due to "horrific beatings" and baton strikes from government forces, while government officials attributed his death to "previous cardiac arrest." Babak Islami Farsani, the lawyer for the Shahidinejad family, wrote on the social media platform "X" on Tuesday, October 4: "I have not yet been granted access to the case file, and the investigative branch repeatedly deprives my clients of their rights with promises of new inquiries, but my clients and I have the names of those accused of Mehrshad's murder." During the severe crackdown on nationwide protests following the killing of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini in custody by the morality police, hundreds were killed, and thousands were injured and arrested. Abram Paley, the Deputy Special Envoy of the United States for Iran, previously described the arrests and pressure on the families of victims of the Islamic Republic as an "open attempt to instill fear among dissenting Iranians" and condemned these actions. The siege of Arak by security forces was to prevent the commemoration of the 40th day of Mehrshad Shahidinejad.