Joint Statement from Families of Victims: You Cannot Make Us Stateless Amid Summons and Pressures

A group of families of victims from recent protests and killings released a joint statement on their social media accounts in response to summonses and pressures from the judicial and security institutions of the Islamic Republic. They stated: 'By the blood of our comrades, we stand until the end.' This joint statement was shared by the families of the victims, including Saeed Afkari, the brother of Navid Afkari, a wrestler executed by the Iranian government, as well as the families of Javad Heydari, Erfan Rezaei, Mohammad Hassan Torkman, Ali Roozbehani, and Minou Majidi, who were killed in the protests over the past year. The brief statement reads: 'These days, as one of the families of the victims is arrested and summoned every hour, we will keep our words short and refrain from unnecessary elaboration. Between us, with the lifeless bodies of our loved ones on our shoulders, and you, with your prisons, whips, and threats, only one sentence remains: 'By the blood of our comrades, we stand until the end.' Saeed Afkari reposted some of the families' stories on his Instagram. This warning from the families comes just twenty days before the anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police and the start of the protests of 1401. In the past month, security institutions have summoned hundreds of political and civil activists, families of political prisoners, and families of those who were killed in these protests. In one case in Gilan, the intelligence department arrested at least 12 people on charges of attempting to organize protests on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death. Additionally, on Tuesday, August 31, Mashallah Karami, the father of Mohammad Mehdi Karami, an executed protester, was arrested at home. Human rights activists say the Islamic Republic intends to prevent protesters from acting on the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death through intimidation and threats. Mahtab Ghorbani, a writer and human rights activist, told Voice of America: 'The arrests of the families of the victims are the last struggles of the Islamic Republic.' The United States has repeatedly recognized the right to civil protest as a fundamental right of the people of Iran and criticized the Islamic Republic for violating this right. The pressure on the families of the victims continues; reactions to the arrest of Mashallah Karami are widespread. Mahtab Ghorbani: 'The arrests of the families of the victims are the last struggles of the Islamic Republic.' Continued security pressure on the families of the victims; the mother of Siavash Mahmoudi, one of the victims of the protests, was summoned. Pressure on the families of the victims; Nasrin Alizadeh, Faramarz Barahoui, and Mahsa Yazdani were arrested. The detention of 12 civil activists in Gilan continues; 'night interrogations' are ongoing.