JINA MAHSA AMINI
The face of Iran's protests. Her life, her dreams and her death.

In memory of Jina 'Mahsa' Amini, the cornerstone of the 'Zan. Zendagi. Azadi revolution.
16 February 2023 | By Gino d'Artali
 .
Gino d'Artali
Indept investigative journalist
CLICK HERE ON HOW TO READ ALL PARTS OF THIS SPECIAL DEDICATED TO JHINA MAHSA AMINI AND ALL OTHERS ASSASINATED BY IRAN'S DICTATORSHIP.
CLICK HERE ON HOW TO READ ALL ON THIS PAGE

Click here for the 2022 'Chapters'

When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
Gino d'Artali
and: My mother (1931-1997) always said to me <Mi figlio, non esistono notizie <vecchie> perche puoi imparare qualcosa da qualsiasi notizia.> Translated: <My son, there is no such thing as so called 'old' news because you can learn something from any news.>
Gianna d'Artali

Note by Gino d'Artali: The Zan, zendagi, azadi!> (Women, life, freedom) has just started and will only then end when khamenei and his puppets i.e. the morality police and the basijis give way or go away!!
So here is where the protests continue and I'll continue to inform you about it. That's my pledge.
 

Iranwire
24 March 2023
<<Protesters Held In Poor Conditions In Great Tehran Penitentiary
The activist HRANA news agency says around 500 people arrested during nationwide protests are facing poor living conditions in an overcrowded ward of Great Tehran Penitentiary. Inmates in the prison's Ward 3 suffer from <unhealthy drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and insufficient food portions,> it said on March 23.
<This ward has about 250 beds, and more than half of the inmates have to sleep on the floor,> an inmate’s relative told the group.
Prison authorities do not provide any toiletries, and prisoners must purchase these items from the expensive prison store, the relative added. Another inmate's relative spoke about the poor quality of drinking water, saying that <inmates have to purchase water from the prison store> and that <meals are also of low quality and insufficient.> A former inmate who was recently freed told HRANA that prison officials do not return the prisoners' belongings such as wristwatches and cell phones upon their release.>>
Read more here:
https://iranwire.com/en/prisoners/115005-arrested-protesters-held-in-poor-conditions-in-tehran-prison/

Iranwire
24 March 2023
<<18-Year Sentence Of Political Activist Sepehri Confirmed
The Iranian judiciary has confirmed the 18-year prison sentence handed down to a political activist who had signed a letter in 2019 calling for the resignation of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Fatemeh Sepehri's lawyer made the announcement on March 23 in a statement published on her brother's (Asghar Sepehri) Twitter account. The lawyer, Gholamhossein Dostali, said the first branch of Mashhad Revolutionary Court did not allow him to represent his client. <Unfortunately, since my representation was not approved, the appeals was not accepted,> Dostali added.
Sepehri will have to serve 10 years of the sentence.
She was arrested in Mashhad on September 12. The activist is one of the 14 signatories of the letter requesting Khamenei's resignation, the abolition of the Islamic Republic and the establishment of a secular government. According to the Tasnim news agency, which is closely linked to Iran's security institutions, Sepehari <repeatedly called for unrest and ignored warnings, leading to the issuance of an arrest warrant.> >>
Source:
https://iranwire.com/en/news/115015-18-year-sentence-of-political-activist-sepehri-confirmed/

Iranwire
24 March 2023
<<Iranian Protesters Flood Zahedan Streets; Sunni Cleric Urges Leadership To Listen To The People
Thousands of Iranian protesters returned to the streets of Zahedan on March 24, as the southeastern city's Sunni Friday prayer leader reiterated his call on the country's Shia establishment to heed the <legitimate demands of the majority of the people.> Each week, Zahedan residents have been holding protest rallies after Friday prayers led by Molavi Abdolhamid, Iran's most prominent Sunni cleric' In his latest sermon, Molavi said the authorities have <mishandled> the anti-government protests that have swept Iran for more than six months and that <it would have been fitting for them to listen to the concerns of the people.> He also said that only drastic changes to the country's domestic and foreign policies could alleviate the problems that Iran’s <ailing economy> is facing. The 76-year-old cleric has been a key dissenting voice inside Iran since the September 2022 death of a young Kurdish woman in police custody sparked the ongoing wave of nationwide protests. After Molavi's sermon, demonstrators flooded the streets of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan and Baluchistan province, chanting <This is the last message, the whole system is the target,> <I'll kill whoever killed my bother> and "We don’t want child murderer government.> Many slogans also targeted Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the paramilitary Basij force.Mean-while, internet monitor NetBlocks reported a <significant disruption> to connectivity in Zahedan and that the incident <follows an ongoing pattern of network blackouts targeting protests during Friday prayers.> >>
Read more here:
https://iranwire.com/en/news/115012-iranian-protesters-flood-zahedan-streets-sunni-cleric-urges-leadership-to-listen-to-the-people/

Iranwire
23 March 2023
By SHOHREH MEHRNAMI
<<Molavi, The Iranian Sunni Cleric Who Became The Protestors' Voice
The Sunni Friday prayer leader of Zahedan, Molavi Abdolhamid, has been a key dissenting voice inside Iran since the eruption of months-long nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic. Iran's top Sunni cleric routinely uses his Friday sermons to denounce the deadly government crackdown on the protest movement and to criticize the policies of the country's Shia clerical rulers, including regarding the economy and women's rights. Zahedan is the capital of Sistan and Baluchistan, home to Iran's Sunni Baluch minority of up to 2 million people. Every week, residents have been holding protest rallies in the city after Molavi’s sermons in Makki Mosque since September 30, when security forces killed dozens of protesters. With his speeches gaining widespread support across the country, the 76-year-old cleric became the voice of the dissatisfied Iranian citizens. But some are wondering why he did not speak out against the Islamic Republic earlier.
Taliban's Return to Power
Molavi has been vocal about human rights violations for about 15 years, and when he welcomed the Taliban’s return to power in neighboring Afghanistan, it came as a surprise to many. In a speech delivered in the summer of 2021, he referred to the Taliban as a <reality> in Afghanistan and emphasized that the members of the group were <different from their predecessors> and have <shown capabilities.> He also praised the Afghan Taliban for announcing a general amnesty and claiming that <they are not seeking violence.>
These remarks drew criticism from human rights defenders, and the Center for Human Rights Defenders in Iran took back the award it had previously given to Molavi for his efforts to advance the rights of ethnic minorities. Last year, however, he condemned the Taliban's ban on girls' education while also criticizing violation of women's rights in Iran. <Which clause in Sharia law did the Taliban use to prevent girls' education?> the cleric asked.
Call for Referendum
Molavi has consistently criticized restrictions imposed by the Islamic Republic on the country's Sunni minority.>>
Read more here:
https://iranwire.com/en/politics/114999-molavi-the-iranian-sunni-cleric-who-became-the-protestors-voice/
Opinion by Gino d'Artali: I know Molavi being a righteous muslim
but I'm missing in today's prayers that he is against oppressing women concerning their overall rights apart from freedom and I advice him to go to LINK AWR to learn a bit more specifically and in general.

NCRI - In Womens News
23 March 2023
<<Social Catastrophe: Over 20,000 Girls Under 15 Married in Iran in Latest Data Release
The Iranian National Statistics Center (NSC) announced that 20,648 girls under 15 years of age were married in Iran in the 9 months from Spring to Autumn 2022. In the same period, 1,085 infants were born to under-15 mothers. The data presented by the Iranian government agencies are not transparent. The last time the NSC published figures on child marriages was in the spring of 2021, when it announced 9,753 girls under 15 had married in Spring 2021. But there are no statistics available for the entire year. And now, the statistics for 2022 are announced for 9 months together. <This is the tip of the iceberg of statistics related to early marriage. The actual number of children married is 5 to 6 times the announced number,> said Mohammad Reza Mahboubfar, a social harms expert. (The state-run ROKNA News Agency - July 25, 2021) In yet another interview, Mahboubfar asserted, <Presently, 100 marriages of girls under 15 years old take place every 24 hours. It is estimated that by the end of the year, some 40,000 early marriages take place this year> (The state-run Arman-e Melli newspaper - July 27, 2021) Mohammad Mehdi Tondgouyan, Deputy Minister of Youth, said that the annual number of early marriages in Iran has increased due to increased marriage loan amounts. <We are seeing an increase in the number of underage marriages, especially among girls under the age of 13,> he announced. (The state-run ILNA news agency - July 6, 2021)
Ali Kazemi, a legal advisor to the clerical regime's Judiciary, had previously acknowledged that <an average of 500,000 to 600,000 Iranian girls under the age of 14 get married every year.> (The state-run Entekhab.ir newspaper - March 4, 2019)
Child marriage is violence against women
According to the provisions of the Universal Convention on the Rights of the Child, a child is someone whose age is less than 18 years. Early marriage or child marriage refers to a marriage in which one or both spouses have not reached the age of 18. Child marriage is one of the most evident examples of violence against women. Still, child marriage is encouraged under the rule of the mullahs in Iran. Child marriage means rape. When a grown man marries a child, he abuses that child. Marriage must be after the end of puberty; otherwise, it can have no meaning other than rape, said Sima Ferdowsipour, a psychologist and university professor in Tehran. (The state-run Khabarfori.ir - July 29, 2021).>>
Read more here, especially that the new government under Raisi does not deal with it:
https://women.ncr-iran.org/2023/03/23/over-20000-girls-under-15-married/

Iranwire
23 March 2023
<<New Film <Rise> Pays Tribute To Iranian Protesters' <Bravery>
As Iranians were celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, a short film paying tribute to the women-led protest movement in Iran premiered in London this week, followed by a global launch on the social media channels of advocacy group Evoca Foundation. The film <Rise> is the story of a teenage girl resisting the morality police after she is kidnapped from the streets of Tehran. The film was released more than six months after the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in custody following her arrest in the Iranian capital for allegedly wearing the mandatory headscarf improperly.
....
<Every year at the foundation, we do a campaign during Women's History Month around social issues that women and girls face globally, such as child marriage,> Alakija wrote in an email to IranWire. <This year, we wanted to amplify the voices of Iranians, especially women fighting for their right to self-determination and to commemorate the 'Woman. Life. Freedom.' movement. The bravery of the people has been extraordinary and an inspiration to people all over the world.> <First and most importantly, I hope that my com-patriots feel a sense of solidarity: no matter the distance, we support you in your fight for freedom,> Alakija continued.
<Your bravery has inspired people to rise up all over the world and I only hope that this film can continue to elevate and amplify your stories.> >>
Read more here:
https://iranwire.com/en/society/114989-new-film-rise-pays-tribute-to-iranian-protesters-bravery/

Iranwire
23 March 2023
<<Iranian Protester Thrown Out Of Window Dies After Falling Into Coma
An Iranian protester who fell into a coma after being thrown from a window by security forces has died in hospital, activists say. The opposition activist collective 1500tasvir said that Hossein Al-Ali remained in a coma for a week before passing away on March 21.
Al-Ali was rushed to hospital a week ago after security forces stormed the apartment in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas where he was hiding and threw him from the fourth floor of the building. Sources close to the family said he had actively participated in nationwide protests in 2021 and 2022. He had been living in hiding for the last two months because he was being sought by the authorities, his relatives said. Al-Ali was originally from the central city of Shiraz. For the past few years, he had been living in Bandar Abbas where he owned a café. The funeral was scheduled to take place on March 23 at Saadi cemetery in Shiraz.>>
Source:
https://iranwire.com/en/news/114996-iranian-protester-thrown-out-of-window-dies-after-falling-into-coma/

Iranwire
22 March 2023
<<Iranian-Born Satrapi: <We'll Roll Our Butts Until We Poke Their Eyes Out>
Five teenagers in Tehran have reportedly voiced contrition after posting a dance video on International Women’s Day that went viral on social media. The clip has inspired others across Iran - and abroad -- to post similar videos with the same song, in an act of defiance toward a theocracy that does not allow women and girls to dance in public. On March 22, as Iranians are celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, a group of girls and women gathered around the Franco-Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi to perform the dance in front of the Iranian Embassy in Paris. Satrapi said the video aimed to express support for the women-led protest movement that has shaken Iran since the September 2022 death of a 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody. Amini had been arrested for allegedly wearing the mandatory head-scarf improperly. <The song is named 'Calm Down' but we certainly are not going to calm down. We'll roll our butts until we poke their eyes out,> Satrapi said. <This [Islamic] republic is based on a gender apartheid between men and woman. They kill us, they imprison us because of four hairs that would excite men,> the author and filmmaker added. For more than four decades, women in Iran have been subjected to discriminatory treatment regarding employment, education, clothing and inheritance, among other things. All women must conceal their hair with a headscarf, or hijabs, while in public and wear loose fitting trousers under their coats. They have also been denied the right to divorce and seek custody of their children.>>
Read more here:
https://iranwire.com/en/women/114982-iranian-born-satrapi-well-roll-our-butts-until-we-poke-their-eyes-out/

Iranwire
22 March 2023
<<Iran's Khamenei Slams <Enemies> In New Year Speech
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei used his speech marking Nowruz, the Persian New Year, to claim that the anti-government protests that have swept Iran for more than six months are part of a global conspi-racy aimed at weakening the Islamic Republic. In a televised address on March 21 from the Imam Reza Shrine in the northeastern city of Mashhad, Khamenei accused the <enemies> of seeking to change the <identity> of the Islamic Republic and <remove all the things that remind the people of pure Islam and the revolution.> He accused US President Joe Biden and <some European leaders> of supporting the protesters, who he said failed to <weaken the Islamic system.> As Khamenei's annual speech was being broadcast on state TV after midnight, Iranians chanted anti-government slogans from balconies and roofs in Tehran and elsewhere, social media footage showed.
Tehran residents also took to the streets in several areas of the capital despite a heavy presence of security forces. In several western Kurdish cities, security forces used shotguns and tear gas to disperse protests, wounding dozens of people. Iran has been swept by popular protests demanding fundamental economic, social and political chan-ges since the September 2022 death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody. The women-led protest movement poses one of the most serious challenges to the theocracy installed by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.>>
Read more here:
https://iranwire.com/en/khameneicom/114976-irans-khamenei-slams-enemies-in-new-year-speech/
Opinion by Gino d'Artali: Amazing that khamenei 'the Zahhak' did not mention the Woman, Life, Freedom movement!

Iranwire
22 March 2023
<<Iranian Women Prisoners Thank Supporters For Keeping <Hope Alive In Our Hearts>
Two journalists and a university student imprisoned in Iran's Qarchak women's prison for their journalistic work and activism have expressed gratitude for the support they have received from the public since their arrests.In a message published on social media on March 21, Elahe Mohammadi, Nilofar Hamedi and Samaneh Asghari said their supporters had helped to <keep hope alive in our hearts> and gave them the <strength to carry on.> The journalists Mohammadi and Hamedi were arrested in September 2022 for covering the events sur-rounding the death of Mahsa Amini, which sparked the ongoing wave of nationwide protests against the country’s clerical establishment.
They are accused of <propaganda against the system> and <conspiring to act against national security,> charges that could carry the death penalty. Asghari, a university student and children's rights activist, was sentenced earlier this month to 18 years and three months in prison on charges including <disturbing public order and peace,> <inciting people to fight and kill each other> and <propa-ganda against the regime.> She will have to serve one-third of the sentence, according to the Committee for Follow-up on the Status of Detainees.The trio is imprisoned in Varamin's Qarchak prison, Tehran province. The Iranian authorities have unleashed a bloody clampdown on the women-led protest movement triggered by the September 16 death of the 22-year-old Amini in police custody.>>
Read more here:
https://iranwire.com/en/prisoners/114980-iranian-women-prisoners-thank-supporters-for-keeping-hope-alive-in-our-hearts/

Ncri - In women's news
21 March 2023
<<Raoufeh MirBagheri sentenced to 8 months in prison and banned from leaving the country
Women's rights activist Raoufeh MirBagheri was sentenced to 8 months in prison and other additional punishments. Raoufeh MirBagheri from Ramsar was detained during the 2022 uprising. The Revolutionary Court of Sari sentenced her to eight months of impri-sonment, a two-year ban on leaving the country, joining political and social groups, and forming a group. The court also ordered some of her belonging to be confiscated. Sari is the capital of Mazandaran Province in northern Iran. Ms. MirBagheri was arrested in Tonekabon on October 26, 2022, by the agents of the IRGC Intelligence of Mazandaran province. After enduring 32 days of detention, she was temporarily released until the end of the proceedings.>>
Source:
https://women.ncr-iran.org/2023/03/21/raoufeh-mirbagheri/

Iranwire
20 March 2023
<<Iran Protest Crackdown: EU, UK Impose Further Sanctions
The European Union and Britain have decided to impose restrictive measures on additional Iranian individuals and entities responsible for serious human rights violations in the country, including senior officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), mem-bers of the judiciary and the Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution.
The EU, the UK, the United States and other countries have in recent months issued several waves of sanctions against the Islamic Repu-blic over its bloody crackdown on antigovernment protesters. The UK government said on March 20 that it has sanctioned <five members on the Board of Directors of the IRGC Co-operative Foundation, the body responsible for managing the IRGC's investments.> Two senior IRGC commanders operating in Tehran and Alborz provinces were also targeted for <gross human rights violations.> <Today we are taking action on the senior leaders within the IRGC who are respon-sible for funnelling money into the regime's brutal repression,> Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement. <Together with our partners around the world, we will continue to stand with the Iranian people as they call for fundamental change in Iran,> he added. Meanwhile, the EU announced it had decided to impose sanctions on eight individuals, including members of the judiciary responsible for <handing down death sentences in unfair trials and for the torturing of convicts,> <conservative clerics undermining the freedom of girls and women or propagating hate against women> and a member of parliament. The Supreme Council of Cultural Revolution was also sanctioned for promoting <projects undermining the freedom of girls and women and discriminating minorities.> The EU said its restrictive measures now apply to a total of 204 individuals and 34 entities. The measures consist of an asset freeze, a travel ban and a prohibition to make funds available to those listed. A ban on exports of equipment which might be used for repression in Iran and of equipment for monitoring telecommunications is also in place.
....
Javaid Rehman, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, told the Human Rights Council on March 20 that the violations committed by the Islamic Republic may amount to crimes against humanity.>>
Read more here:
https://iranwire.com/en/news/114950-iran-protest-crackdown-eu-uk-impose-further-sanctions/
Opinion by Gino d'Artali: especially also read the below.

Iranwire
20 March 2023
<<UN Expert Says Rights Violations In Iran May Amount To Crimes Against Humanity
The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran says violations committed by the Islamic Republic in recent months as part of a broader crackdown on anti-government protests may amount to crimes against humanity. Addressing the Geneva-based Human Rights Council on March 20, Javaid Rehman said that the scale and gravity of the crimes <points to the possible commission of international crimes, notably the crimes against humanity.> The UN expert cited cases of murder, imprisonment, enforced disap-pearances, torture, rape, sexual violence and persecution.
Iran's Ambassador Ali Bahreini rejected the allegations.
Iran has been swept by protests demanding fundamental changes since the September 2022 death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini, in custody. Amini had been arrested by <morality police> for allegedly wearing the mandatory headscarf improperly. The aut-horities claim she died from pre-existing medical conditions, while eyewitnesses and her family say she was beaten by security forces.
Rehman said he had evidence that Amini died <as a result of beatings by the state morality police.> The authorities responded to the women-led protest movement sparked by Amini's death with brutal force, killing more than 520 demonstrators and unlawfully detaining over 20,000, activists say. Following biased trials, the judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters. According to Rehman, a total of 143 people had been executed in Iran since the beginning of the year following <grossly unfair trials.> Also on March 20, the European Union and Britain decided to impose restrictive measures on additional Iranian individuals responsible for serious human rights violations in Iran, including senior officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and members of the judiciary.>>
Source:
https://iranwire.com/en/news/114949-un-expert-says-rights-violations-in-iran-may-amount-to-crimes-against-humanity/

NCRI - Women Committee
18 March 2023
<<Golrokh Iraee detained in limbo despite 6 months in Evin Prison
Political prisoner Golrokh Iraee remains in limbo in Evin Prison des-pite nearly six months past her arrest. Security forces violently arrested Golrokh Iraee at her home on September 26, 2022. They ransacked her residence and confiscated some of her personal belongings. In late October, Branch 2 of Evin's Prosecutor's Office informed Ms. Iraee regarding <assembly and collusion> and <propaganda against the state.> Golrokh Iraee had been previously arrested and detained for her activities. In the latest case against her, the 26th Branch of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced her to three years and seven months in prison. The court also depri-ved her of membership in any group or party for two years. The Revision Court later upheld the above verdict without convening any hearing. Based on Article 134 of the clerical regime's Penal Code, two years and one month of the verdict was applicable. In April 2021, Golrokh Iraee was sentenced to one year in absentia and banned for two years from joining any group or party and leaving the country. Ms. Iraee had not informed of the convening of such a trial session. Golrokh Iraee was finally released from the Prison of Amol on May 9, 2022.>>
Source:
https://women.ncr-iran.org/2023/03/18/golrokh-iraee/
Read on the same page about:
- Behnaz Jamalzadeh receives a 1-year sentence

copyright Womens' Liberation Front 2019/cryfreedom.net 2023