The death of Mahsa Amini, a young Iranian Kurd, which occurred when she was apprehended by the morality police, set Iran ablaze. His parents and brother were to receive the Sakharov Prize awarded to the young victim posthumously in France. But they were prohibited from leaving Iranian territory, their lawyer in France announced this Saturday.
They “were prohibited from boarding the flight which was to take them to France for the Sakharov Prize award and from leaving the territory yesterday at midnight even though they had a visa,” indicated Me Chirinne Ardakani. “Their passports were confiscated,” she added. “They returned home during the night but their lawyer Me Saleh Nikbakht arrived in Paris to receive the prize on their behalf,” she also declared.
“Feverish” authorities
The Sakharov Prize, the EU’s highest distinction for human rights, was awarded last October by the European Parliament to Mahsa Amini and to the “Woman Life Freedom” movement bloodily repressed by the government in Iran. The death of Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, at the age of 22, three days after her arrest by the police for an ill-fitting veil, led to months of large-scale demonstrations against Iranian political and religious leaders, including the repression caused hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests.
“While the Nobel is being held at the same time, the Iranian authorities have never been so mobilized to prevent the families of the victims from speaking to the international community,” said Mr. Ardakani. “We feel that the authorities are feverish with regard to any expression of support from the international community,” she judged.
European condemnation of “brutal murders” of women in Iran
“The brutal murder of Dina Mahsa Amini marked a turning point,” said the Speaker of Parliament, Robert Metso, when announcing the prize. “The slogan ‘Woman Life Freedom’ has become a rallying cry for all those who defend equality, dignity and freedom in Iran,” she added. On November 23, the European Parliament condemned Iran’s attacks against women, including the “brutal murders” of women including that of Mahsa Amini.
In a non-binding resolution adopted by 516 votes in favor, 4 against and 27 abstentions, it “strongly condemns the continued deterioration of the human rights situation in Iran and the brutal murders of women carried out by the Iranian authorities, including the winner of the prize Sakharov 2023, Mahsa Amini. And, MEPs called for the “immediate release of all victims of arbitrary detention and human rights defenders”, notably Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner.