Pressure on Families Seeking Justice; Nasrin Alizadeh, Faramarz Barahoui, and Mahsa Yazdani Arrested

In the continued pressure on families seeking justice ahead of the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death and the onset of nationwide protests, human rights sources reported that Nasrin Alizadeh, Mahsa Yazdani, and Faramarz Barahoui, members of the families of three victims of the 2021 protests, have been arrested. Following the arrest of Shirin Alizadeh's husband in recent days, reports indicate that Nasrin Alizadeh, sister of this protest victim, was also arrested on Wednesday morning, September 1. According to reports from news and human rights sources, security agents arrested Nasrin Alizadeh "in her private residence" and transferred her to an "unknown location." Previously, on August 25, Kourosh Vaziri, Shirin Alizadeh's husband, was also arrested after holding a birthday ceremony for this deceased protester at her grave. Simultaneously, human rights sources reported that Faramarz Barahoui, brother of Ismail Barahoui, a victim of the Zahedan protests, and Mahsa Yazdani, mother of Mohammad Javad Zahedi, a teenager killed in the Mazandaran protests, have been arrested. As the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death approaches, pressure on civil activists and families seeking justice has increased. On Tuesday, Mashallah Karami, father of executed protester Mohammad Mahdi Karami, and his lawyer were arrested in Alborz province. A father of one of the victims told Voice of America that security officials have threatened families seeking justice that if they are seen in public during Mahsa's anniversary, there will be serious consequences. Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, stated on July 18 in response to a question from a Voice of America Persian section reporter that the Islamic Republic has not learned from the recent protests.