Mahour Ahmadi Court Appearance; Investigator's Question: Why Did You Carry Your Father's Coffin?

Mahour Ahmadi, daughter of Ahmadreza Ahmadi, a renowned poet and writer who passed away this summer, reported on 'paying a fine for mourning her father.' Coinciding with the celebration of International Women's Day on Friday, March 8, corresponding to 18 Esfand, Mahour Ahmadi explained in an Instagram post that 10 days after her father's death, she was summoned and interrogated by Branch 4 of the Culture and Media Prosecutor's Office on charges of 'carrying her father's coffin,' 'encouraging corruption,' and 'appearing in public spaces without a hijab.' She noted that her father, Ahmadreza Ahmadi, was 'unknown' to the investigator, and the first question posed to her was, 'Why did you carry your father's coffin?' Mahour Ahmadi further stated that after her explanations and defenses, the charge of 'encouraging corruption' was removed from her case, which was then forwarded to Branch 1099 of the Tehran Criminal Court 2 with the charge of 'women appearing in public spaces without adhering to the Islamic hijab.' Mahour Ahmadi attended her father's funeral without compulsory hijab and participated in carrying Ahmadreza Ahmadi's coffin after delivering a speech in his honor. The court session was held six months after the interrogation, in Dey, and 'without regard to her defenses,' issued a 'final' ruling without allowing for appeal, sentencing Mahour Ahmadi to a fine of 1,500,000 tomans instead of 10 days in prison. She explained how a problem that caused her to miss the timely payment of the fine led to the freezing of her bank accounts and mobile line. Mahour Ahmadi wrote: 'The seizure of assets for failing to pay a fine of 1,500,000 tomans for mourning my father was another anger I had; it was laughable to me. In the end, I paid this amount in execution of the ruling, and the case was closed.' She mentioned that this fine was for mourning a man who 'worked selflessly like ten people in this country,' and ultimately, his entire financial worth was 'a salary of 8 million tomans per month.' In her note, Mahour Ahmadi congratulated 'all women, girls, and mothers who had no right to carry their men's coffins' and also 'all women who have been seeking their basic rights for months and years.'