Hrana: 292 Protesters and Civil Activists Arrested in Iran Over the Past 50 Days

The Hrana news agency reported on the "intensification of the repression of civil society" by the government and judicial institutions of the Islamic Republic, stating that at least 292 protesters and civil activists have been arrested across Iran by government forces in the past 50 days. Hrana, the news organ of a group of human rights activists in Iran, wrote in this report that the Islamic Republic has attempted to prevent any potential unrest on the anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Amini on September 25 by various means, including pressure on students, educational institutions, artists, and the families of victims of protests. According to Hrana, government institutions have taken punitive measures against a large number of students and university professors as part of a "prevention strategy" against protests, punishing over 3,126 students and 31 university professors for their critical stance, including participation in peaceful strikes and protests over the past year, through various methods such as summons, bans on entering universities, deprivation of education, and expulsion. The formation of legal cases against artists and pressure on the families of protest victims in the past two months are other actions that Hrana reports as part of the "strategy of security institutions to prevent the emergence of protests." The report states that during this time, 44 members of these families have experienced actions from government institutions ranging from arrests to summons. According to Hrana, Safa Aili, the uncle of Mahsa Amini, Mashallah Karami, the father of executed protester Mohammad Mahdi Karami, Omid Ghadimi, the brother of Foad Ghadimi in Divandareh, Reza Babernajad, the brother of Mehdi Babernajad in Quchan, Hesam Karami and Sirvan Karami, cousins of Borhan Karami in Kamyaran, Shahrmin Habibi, the wife of Fereydoun Mahmoudi in Saqez, Nasrin Alizadeh and Mohammad Vaziri, sister and husband of Shirin Alizadeh in Isfahan, Saadat Mokhtari and Meysam Mohammadian, cousin and nephew of Jamshid Mokhtari Jonaghani in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Ahmad Hassanzadeh and Solmaz Hassanzadeh, father and sister of Mohammad Hassanzadeh in Boukan, and Farzad Moazami, the cousin of Reza Moazami Goudarzi, one of the victims of the November 2019 protests in Boroujerd, Mahsa Basir Tavana, the sister of Mehran Basir Tavana in Fuman, Mahsa Yazdani, the mother of Mohammad Javad Zahedi in Sari, Masoumeh Azari, Helia, Vahid, and Amir Kia, four members of the Hananeh Kia family in Nowshahr, Farhad Zareh, the brother of Milad Zareh in Mazandaran, Farzaneh Barzakar, the mother of Erfan Rezaei in Sari, and Faramarz Abil (Barahoui), the brother of Ismail Abil (Barahoui) in Zahedan, are among the 23 family members of the deceased who have been arrested. Additionally, see: Fact-finding committee: The increase in the repression of women and government "revenge" in Iran is of serious concern. Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State, on Thursday, September 23, in a press conference responding to a question from a VOA Persian reporter about the increased pressure of the Islamic Republic on the families of the victims, especially the father of Mahsa Amini, said: "According to reports, the Iranian regime has summoned Mahsa's father for questioning four times in the past two weeks. The regime continues its relentless intimidation of the Amini family and other families of killed protesters." The spokesperson emphasized: "However, the regime cannot force the people of Iran into silence and intimidate them. The world is watching the conditions of these families and the ongoing intimidation of journalists and the repression of peaceful protesters, and we will continue to carefully take any appropriate action in response to it." At the same time, the fact-finding committee of the United Nations Human Rights Council on Thursday issued a statement on the occasion of the first anniversary of the killing of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, expressing "deep concern" over the escalation of repression against girls and women and "revenge" against protesters and the families of victims. The committee stated in its statement that based on information received, the Islamic Republic has responded to protests "by resorting to excessive and unnecessary force, arbitrary arrests and detentions, unfair trials, extrajudicial executions, and harassment of the families of victims, which continues to this day."