EA large contingent of Iranian security forces prevented a planned mourning ceremony for the first anniversary of her death in Jina Mahsa Amini’s hometown on Saturday. Amini’s father Amjad Amini was temporarily arrested as he left his home in Saghes in the west of the country, according to the Kurdish human rights organization Hengaw.
According to information from Radio Free Europe, he later returned but was placed under house arrest. Revolutionary guards blocked access to the Saghes cemetery, where the protest movement began a year ago at Amini’s funeral. Amini’s parents announced a funeral service a week ago. “Like any grieving family, on the anniversary of our beloved daughter’s death, we will gather at her grave and perform the traditional and religious ceremonies,” they wrote. “We call on everyone to avoid violent actions and reactions to them.”
Amini’s mother thanked her on Instagram on Saturday for her sympathy over the past twelve months. Iranians from different parts of the country visited her daughter’s grave and expressed their support through calls and messages. Cultural workers honored the name and memory of their daughter with “valuable and lasting works”. “We salute the humanity and generosity of all these lovely people,” she wrote.
Isolated arrests
A large presence of security forces was also observed at other cemeteries in the country, including at the grave of Hamidreza Rouhi in Tehran’s main cemetery. The 19-year-old demonstrator was shot dead by security forces in November. The graves of those killed during the protests have become places of silent protest.
While there were solidarity demonstrations in numerous cities around the world, the massive presence of security forces in Iran apparently prevented larger gatherings of people. An eyewitness reported to the FAZ from Revolution Square in Tehran that “there are more regime forces than passers-by on the streets.” He wrote on the Telegram chat service: “I heard a woman screaming and saw regime forces pushing two young women and a man into a van. Suddenly a man in civilian clothes came to me and asked, ‘What are you staring at?’.” Activists had called for people to gather wordlessly at Revolution Square to avoid arrests.
In several other cities, smaller groups apparently gathered for silent marches. Videos of this were spread via social media from Shiraz and Mashhad, among others. In videos secretly recorded from moving cars, occasional arrests and tear gas could be seen and warning shots could be heard. It was not possible to verify when they were taken.
atmosphere of fear
The regime had already created an atmosphere of fear in the weeks leading up to the anniversary. According to the opposition information platform Harana News Agency, at least 292 activists have been arrested in the past two months. Hundreds of students have been excluded from universities or from their dormitories. 31 professors were suspended from duty. 44 relatives of those killed were summoned, intimidated or arrested by security authorities.