Yashar Tabrizi, Constitutional Rights Activist, Arrested

Two days before the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death in police custody, news sources from inside Iran reported that Yashar Tabrizi, a constitutional rights activist, was arrested on Thursday, September 14. Arasham Rezaei, a civil activist and former political prisoner who has been avoiding going home for days to prevent his own arrest, announced Tabrizi's arrest on the 'X' messaging platform, stating that he was detained in the city of Tabriz. Pouya Jigarvand, another civil activist, also reported that the repressive forces of the Islamic Republic not only arrested Tabrizi and transferred him to an unknown location but also confiscated the mobile phones of both him and his wife. In his last video, posted on September 10 on his personal 'X' account to commemorate the birthday of Ailar Haghi, a victim of the nationwide protests of 2022, Tabrizi emphasized: 'We will continue this path, more determined than before; with a full tongue and empty hands, against a government that has risen against its own people.' He had previously addressed the officials of the Islamic Republic, saying: 'If your pain is the pain of preserving Bashar al-Assad's shrine, my pain is the pain of preserving security for the women of this land. If your pain is the pain of rebuilding Syria, Yemen, and Lebanon, my pain is the pain of rebuilding Sistan and Baluchestan and Khuzestan.' The first branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court in Shahriar sentenced this former political prisoner to one year of imprisonment for 'propaganda against the regime' on Thursday, September 23. Pressure on civil activists and families seeking justice has increased ahead of the anniversary of Mahsa (Zhina) Amini's death, with several of them being summoned or arrested. Reports also indicate that the repressive forces of the Islamic Republic shot and killed a protester in Golshahr, Alborz province, with four bullets yesterday. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has described the actions of the Islamic Republic in suppressing protesters as 'special violence' and called for U.S. policymakers to support referring the regime's human rights violations to the International Criminal Court. The sister of Elham Modarresi urged others not to be deceived by the investigator and to publicize the name of their loved one in detention. A woman was arrested in Tabriz after photographing Ailar Haghi's grave, a deceased protester. A research report indicated that two-thirds of the world's deceased protesters last year were killed in Iran. The release of the song 'Sar Kham Qadghn' by Aryush highlighted the significant actions of the heroic people of Iran. The American religious freedom organization has called for the Islamic Republic's case to be referred to the International Criminal Court.