Lawyers for the Family of Shirin Alizadeh: Instead of Addressing Their Complaint, They Have Become 'Debtors'

Lawyers for the family of Shirin Alizadeh, one of the victims of the nationwide protests of 2022, state that the family's complaint regarding the shooting by government agents has not only gone unresolved but that the Islamic Republic has also created a case against Kourosh Vaziri, Shirin Alizadeh's husband, labeling them as 'debtors.' Shirin Alizadeh, a resident of Isfahan, was shot and killed on September 22, 2022, while traveling with her family in the Abbasabad area of Mazandaran, struck by bullets from government forces in front of her husband and child. According to previous reports, Kourosh Vaziri and Nasrin Alizadeh, Shirin's husband and sister, were arrested ahead of the anniversary of the protests. Payam Darafshan, one of the family's lawyers, told 'Emtidad' that immediately after Shirin's death, her family filed a complaint with local authorities, but these judicial bodies claimed they 'lacked jurisdiction' and refused to hear the complaint, ultimately sending the case to the Supreme Court. Darafshan announced that after follow-ups, the Supreme Court of the Islamic Republic issued an order for the case to be addressed by the competent authority in the Mazandaran judiciary, and he, along with a lawyer 'based in Mazandaran,' will pursue the case 'seriously.' In this context, another case is ongoing in Isfahan province, and Kourosh (Mohammad) Vaziri will be tried on November 6 in the first branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Isfahan. Zahra Kazemi, another lawyer for the family, told 'Emtidad' that Shirin Alizadeh's husband was arrested solely for 'expressing and reflecting his pains and grievances on social media' and 'for holding a family birthday ceremony to uplift their young child at their mother's grave.' It has also been recorded in the 'security authority report' in the case that 'only family members and close friends were present at the grave and no call had been made,' and 'this issue should logically be taken into account.' The lawyers for Shirin Alizadeh's family stated in this discussion that due to the authorities' indifference to the family's complaint and the formation of a case against Kourosh Vaziri, this family has been placed in a 'debtor' status instead of having their complaint addressed in judicial authorities. Payam Darafshan expressed hope that now, with the lawyers entering this case, 'fair and proper proceedings will take place in court.' Shirin Alizadeh was traveling to Mazandaran with her husband and seven-year-old son when, amid the sudden escalation of protests on the streets of Matal Qav, she was shot while filming the ongoing events from her car. Shirin Alizadeh's mobile camera recorded the moment of her death in front of a Basij base. Pressure on the families of the victims of the 2022 protests has increased ahead of the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in the custody of the morality police and the anniversary of the start of these protests, leading to the arrest of several, including Shirin Alizadeh's husband and sister. Previously, the father of one of the victims of the protests in the second half of 2022 emphasized in a message to VOA that Islamic Republic officials had threatened the families of the victims ahead of the anniversary of these deceased individuals. In response to these pressures, the office of Abram Paley, the deputy special envoy for Iran, condemned the arrests and pressure on the families of the victims of the Islamic Republic as 'an overt attempt to instill fear among dissenting Iranians.' He emphasized, 'We condemn this overt attempt to instill fear among Iranians who have lost much ahead of the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death.'