Mahsa Amini, 22, died on September 16, 2022, three days after she was detained and reportedly beaten by “morality police” for “inappropriate attire”

The Swedish Citizen and EU Employee Detained in Iran for 500+ Days

UPDATES: Ahead of Anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s Death, Iran Regime Detains Activists

UPDATE, SEPT 15:

Iran authorities are continuing their wave of arrests — including of family members of slain protesters — ahead of Saturday’s anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

In addition to seizing relatives and other activists, officials are dismissing professors who have supported the right to protest. At least 26 have been fired or faced other disciplinary action.

Students are also being brought before university disciplinary committees, expelled, and/or summoned to security agencies.

Five long-term political prisoners — Mohammad Najafi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Saeid Madani, and Mehdi Mahmoudian — have defied the regime and announced a hunger strike to mark the anniversary.

We stand in unwavering tribute to the relentless efforts and sacrifices of the leaders of the Mahsa uprising. As we honor the memory of all the valiant martyrs of this movement and extend our profound solidarity to the grieving families who have lost their loved ones, we unite on this momentous anniversary of the protests.

We declare our unyielding solidarity with the aspirations of women and men, particularly the fearless young women of Iran, and pledge to champion their just demands, including the abolition of compulsory hijab and vehement opposition to the ongoing repressive, anti-national, and anti-women policies, notably the regressive “Chastity and Hijab” bill.

UPDATE, SEPT 14:

President Ebrahim Raisi has threatened protesters on the eve of the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini — detained and reportedly beaten by “morality police” for “inappropriate attire” — in custody.

Raisi said in a televised interview on Tuesday night:

Those who intend to abuse Mahsa Amini’s name under this pretext, to be an agent of foreigners, to create this instability in the country, we know what will happen to them….

The intelligence and security agencies are monitoring all the movements and will identify and deliver to judicial authorities those who want to…take to streets in the coming days and create problems.

Security services have been detaining the relatives of slain protesters. Last week, authorities shut down at least five social media pages and arrested six individuals behind them.

UPDATE, SEPT 11:

Ahead of the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, Iran’s authorities are detaining more family members of protesters killed by security forces.

Omid Ghadimi, the brother of victim Foad Ghadimi, and Farzad Moazami Goodarzi, a relative of the slain Reza Moazami Goodarzi, are the latest detainees.

Foad Ghadimi, a 39-year-old father of two, was critically injured by the security forces during the first days of protests in Divandarreh in western Iran. He died in hospital two days later.

Reza Moazami Goodarzi was shot and killed during the November 2019 demonstrations over rising fuel prices and economic conditions.

Ahmad Hassanzadeh and Soulmaz Hassanzadeh, father and sister of slain protester Mohammad Hassanzadeh, have also been detained for the past week.

Mahsa Amini’s uncle Safa Aeli, was seized in Saghez in northwestern Iran on September 5. His whereabouts are unknown, with no explanation for his arrest.

UPDATE 1513 GMT:

Behrouz Chamanara is the latest professor to be dismissed as Iranian authorities crack down on any support of nationwide protests.

Chamanara, who worked at Kurdistan University in western Iran, was dismissed upon a directive from the Ministry of Intelligence. The Student Guild Councils of Iran added that the firing following the Kurdistan Intelligence Office rejected the professor’s qualifications to serve as a faculty member.

Chamanara confirmed the news by posting a letter addressed to Hamed Ghaderzadeh, the President of Kurdistan University. The academic said his request for an extension was declined for reasons unrelated to academic or university matters.

Chamanara was detained by security forces last November 26 in response to a statement read by Kurdistan University professors on the campus. He was released eight days later after posting bail.

At least 10 professors were dismissed last week, including two from Allameh University in Tehran and seven from the Faculty of Literature at the University of Tehran.

UPDATE, SEPT 5:

An uncle of Mahsa Amini — the 22-year-old woman whose death in police custody last September 16 sparked nationwide protests — has been arrested.

Amini’s brother Ashkan confirmed that Safa Aeli was arrested in the family’s hometown of Saghez in Kurdistan Province in northwestern Iran on Tuesday.

The reason for the arrest or which agency carried it out is unknown.

ORIGINAL ENTRY, SEPT 3: Iran’s authorities have handed down three-year prison sentences on two female journalists over their coverage of “Woman. Life. Freedom” protests since last September.

Negin Bagheri and Elnaz Mohammadi were convicted of “conspiracy” and “collusion”.

Their lawyer Amir Raisian said each will spend about a month behind bars, with the threat of further imprisonment maintained by officials.

“The remaining period [of the sentence] is suspended over five years,” Raisian said. The journalists will be required to take “professional ethics training” and will be prohibited from leaving Iran.

Mohammadi writes for the daily newspaper Ham Mihan and was held in Tehran’s Evin Prison in February for a week. Bagheri works for the Haft-e Sobh newspaper.

Mohammadi’s sister, Elahe, who also works for Ham Mihan, was detained in September after reporting on the funeral of Mahsa Amini, 21, who died in police custody on September 16. She and Niloufar Hamedi, who broke the news of Amini’s coma and death, were tried in June and are awaiting their verdicts.

Amini was seized by “morality police” in Tehran on September 13 over “inappropriate attire”. Eyewitnesses said she was beaten. Her death, and its coverage by journalists sparked the nationwide protests for rights, justice, and freedom.

More than 90 journalists have been interrogated and/or arrested during the protests. Many of them are women.