Wave of Arrests in Kurdish Cities Continues Ahead of Second Anniversary of Mahsa Amini's Death

As arrests and summons continue in Kurdish cities of Iran, informed sources told the Persian section of Voice of America about the deployment of a large number of government agents throughout the city of Saqqez and severe internet disruptions in several cities of Iran, including Saqqez and Sanandaj, ahead of the second anniversary of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini's death in the custody of the morality police. Concurrently, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported the 'continuation of the wave of arrests of Kurdish citizens and activists' by the security forces of the Islamic Republic in the cities of Mahabad, Oshnavieh, Piranshahr, Divandareh, Marivan, Sarvabad, Boukan, and Baneh. This human rights organization noted that at least '21' individuals have been arrested in the past 10 days, adding that they were detained by the Ministry of Intelligence and the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Previously, the Coordination Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Unions reported the summons of 14 members of the Kurdistan Teachers' Trade Association to the Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office in Sanandaj. Additionally, the human rights organization 'Kurdpa' stated that 'the atmosphere in Kurdish cities has been heavily militarized and security forces have been deploying checkpoints, installing new cameras throughout the city and cemeteries, increasing the wave of arrests, summons, and threats against detainees of protests and the families of the deceased, as well as controlling the public by security forces and plainclothes agents.' Earlier, Amjad Amini, Mahsa Amini's father, announced that if the government does not intervene and 'considering the calls and requests from the public,' the anniversary ceremony for his daughter will be held on Sunday, September 25. Mojgan Ekhtiyari and Amjad Amini, Mahsa Amini's parents, wrote in an Instagram post: 'We, the family of Zhina, like any grieving family, will gather at the grave of our beloved Zhina (Mahsa) Amini to hold the traditional and religious anniversary ceremony.' Meanwhile, the Hengaw Human Rights Organization reported on Saturday, citing images received from the city of Saqqez, that 'water from the Chahargaviz Dam has reached the city of Saqqez and completely blocked the secondary route to the Aichi cemetery.' Hengaw reported on Friday, September 23, that 'Iran's security agencies have warned farmers and gardeners to collect and relocate their water motors from the bed of the Saqqez River (Cham Saqqez) due to the opening of the Chahargaviz Dam water, aiming to obstruct access to Zhina Amini's grave.' This organization noted that last year, security agencies opened one of the dam's gates to 'cut off access to Zhina Amini's grave.' This route had been used by protesting citizens for the fortieth-day ceremony of Mahsa Amini in 2022. Gohar Eshghi, a civil activist and mother of Sattar Beheshti, a blogger who was killed in Evin prison in November 2012, wrote on the social network 'X': 'As the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death approaches, the Islamic Republic has once again shown that it fears the voice of the people's demands for rights and freedom.' Ms. Eshghi emphasized that 'fear and terror cannot break this unity' and added: 'The people of Iran are loudly demanding freedom, justice, and equality, and no government can chain this demand.' On the other hand, according to the Kurdpa website, the 'Women’s Freedom Movement of Sanandaj' also issued a statement on the second anniversary of the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement, highlighting 'the dynamism and universality of this movement for the demands of all groups, classes, and strata of society,' and emphasized the continuation of the struggle within the framework of this movement's discourse, stating: 'This movement has never gone silent, and we have vowed to remain in the field until we achieve the goals of this revolution.' The United Nations Human Rights Committee warned in a new report on Friday that the Iranian government has intensified its efforts to suppress the fundamental rights of women and girls and 'destroy the remnants of women's activities' two years after the start of the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' protests. In this context, the spokesperson for the U.S. State Department confirmed this report and urged Iranian officials to stop this repression. Matthew Miller described the UN Human Rights Committee's report on the repression of Iranian women by the Islamic Republic as 'completely accurate' in a press conference on Friday, stating: 'We also see that the repression of Iranian women and the violation of their rights by the Islamic Republic continues.'