US Representative on Iran: Pressure on Victims' Families is the Islamic Republic's Attempt to Instill Fear

The office of Abram Pili, the deputy special envoy for Iran, condemned the reports of arrests and pressure on the families of victims of the Islamic Republic, calling it a "clear attempt to instill fear among Iranian dissenters." In a post on Mr. Pili's official account on the social media platform "X," it stated: "In light of reports of the suppression and intimidation of the families of deceased protesters, we condemn this blatant attempt to create fear among Iranians who have lost so much ahead of the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death." In recent weeks, as the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death approaches, many families seeking justice for those killed in last year's protests have been arrested, interrogated, or threatened by government agencies. Amid the ongoing pressure on the families of the victims, some news sources reported that Farhad Zarei, the brother of Milad Zarei, who was killed during the nationwide protests in Babol, has been arrested. Milad Zarei, a 25-year-old protester from Babol in Mazandaran province, was shot in the back on September 21, 2022, during the suppression of nationwide protests following Mahsa Amini's death while in the custody of the morality police. The wave of arrests of families seeking justice is ongoing in various cities in Iran as the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death approaches and the likelihood of renewed protests, which Hossein Salami, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has expressed concern about, looms. Eight days have passed since the arrest of Mashallah Karami, the father of Mohammad Mehdi Karami, a protester executed in Karaj, and his lawyer. According to a relative of Hananeh Kia, in recent days, Vahid Kia, Masoumeh Azari, Helia Kia, and Amir Kia, four members of the family of this killed protester in Mazandaran, have been arrested. On September 28, Fatemeh Heydari, the sister of Javad Heydari, a protester killed in Qazvin, reported pressure on her family ahead of the anniversary of his death, stating that Frank Karimi, the wife of her other brother Mohammad, had been fired from her job. Additionally, in recent days, several family members of victims seeking justice, including Kourosh Vaziri and Nasrin Alizadeh, the husband and sister of Shirin Alizadeh in Isfahan, Faramarz Barahoui, brother of Ismail Barahoui in Sistan and Baluchestan, Shirin Habibi, wife of Fereydoun Mahmoudi in Kurdistan, and Mahsa Yazdani, mother of Mohammad Javad Zahedi in Mazandaran, have been arrested. Exclusive; US: We will continue to implement "strict" sanctions against the Islamic Republic. The office of the special envoy for Iran expressed satisfaction with Yasmin Maqbali's command in NASA's space mission. Meeting of the deputy special envoy for Iran with the children of Sharmeh: He should not have been arrested.