CRY FREEDOM.net
formerly known as
Women's Liberation Front
'Insight is the first step of resistance against any ideologic form of dictatorial and misogynistic oppression'

Tribute to KIAN PIRFALA, 9 years old and victim of the Islamic Republic's savagery 10 years ago

 HEAR JINA AMINI'S VOICE
And do read also the above linked  incredible December 2023 update!

despite the mullahs' regime to force it down!
Her mother speaks out loud and clear
UPDATED: September 29 - 16, 2024
Second Anniversary of Jina Amini's
state-sanctioned murder
incl. Commemorating Bloody Friday
a wave of arrests of her fellow-citizen

Overview of news about the Second aniversary of Jina Amini's state-sactioned murder September 2024


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

Read also: Armita's Story: Iran's Generation Z Rebellion Against the Ayatollahs

Ongoing since Oct. 3, 2024:
Commemoration of the Fallen for
Freedom Part6
 Click here for previous Commemorations  
And more commemorational stories
Tortured to Death: The Story of Atefeh Na'ami
Violence During Woman, Life, Freedom Protests

'Women's Arab Spring 1.2'
March 28, 2025 06.45 AM GMT
Incl. Syria: YPJ The Women’s Protection Units fighters

  
 About the Afghanistan Women Revolt
March 31, 2025

PALESTINE
March 27, 2025 16.00 PM GMT

HAIL TO THE IRANIAN WOMEN'S REVOLUTIONISTS FALLEN FOR FREDOM
against the supreme leader, the arch-reactionary Ayatollah Ali Khomeini, and his placeman president. The message of the women when the former president visited a university was plain: <give way or get lost> in 2023 and still is.
IN MEMORY OF ASRA PANAHI (16)- JINA MAMINI (22) - NIKA SHAKARAMI (16), SARINA ESMAILZADEH (16) HADIS NAJAFI (20), AND MORE WOMEN WHO WERE ASSASINATED SO FAR BY THE IRANIAN AXIS OF EVIL.
  Click here for a total list so far

(Updates April wk1, 2025) z

UPDATES OF THE UPRISING  AND REVOLUTION AROUND THE ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEATH OF JINA AMINI IN CUSTODY OF THE REGIME'S ATTEMPT AND CRUELTY TO TRY AND CRUSH IT.

This links to a page that is in full dedicated and a tribute to Jina Amini who, with stilll 'till today too many other sisters gave their life for freedom. Long live a long and free Iran And do read also the above linked  incredible December 2023 update! despite the mullahs' regime to force it down! Her mother speaks out loud and clear UPDATED: September 29 - 16, 2024 Second Anniversary of Jina Amini's state-sanctioned murder incl. Commemorating Bloody Friday and earlier news about a wave of arrests of her fellow-citizen

We all grief for the loss of our sister / daughter of Iran Armita Gevarnand:   Read her updated story here

'War against the No-hijabi women' Update Dec. 20, 2024: Iranian Women Rise Against the New Hijab Law with the Slogan "Woman, Resistance, Freedom" Nov. 13, 2024: hijab-torture clinics

& Actual news:  Generation Z Leads Hijab Rebellion on Tehran’s Streets and Earlier Stories and more

UPDATE March 13, 2025

Sisters 4 each other, Sisters 4 All
Narges Mohammadi: "Tyranny will fall"
Pakhshan Azizi: "You dictator, I am Arash, fire responds to fire,"
Sharifeh Mohammadi: "Finally, one day, I will sing the song of victory from the summit of the mountain, like the sun. Tomorrow belongs to us"
Varisha Moradi: "Resistance is life"
 in continuation of the resistance of the 4 sisters and others
Earlier reports
and
read all their previous fights

When one hurts or kills a women
one hurts or kills hummanity and is an antrocitie.
 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.

Symbol of restance of Iranian women

Mai Sato
Iranwire - February 28, 2025 - by Aida Ghajar
<<Exclusive: UN Special Rapporteur on Iran Raises Alarm Over Executions Surge
Iran executed at least 169 people in January and February alone, according to Mai Sato, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran. During her first presentation to the UN Human Rights Council, Sato warned that if this pace continues, Iran will execute more than 1,000 people this year.
“I am very concerned about the rapid rise in the number of executions, especially just in the last two months as well,” Sato told IranWire in an exclusive interview following her presentation. “I believe, looking at the past year’s patterns, January and February are quiet months, but we’ve already identified at least 169 executions,” she added. Ali Bahreini, the Islamic Republic’s representative to the United Nations, entered the Human Rights Council chamber after the UN Special Rapporteur and the fact-finding committee presented their reports. Reading from a prepared text, he dismissed human rights reports as “ridiculous” and fabricated by “global arrogance” before leaving the hall. After the session examining Iran’s human rights situation ended, representatives of what they called “people’s organizations” approached Sato and criticized her report as inconsistent with reality.
All the protesters who surrounded Mai Sato were men.
In her report, Sato focused on four key issues: the rapid increase in executions, violations of the rights of ethnic groups and religious minorities, lack of transparency, and harassment and failure to respect the basic rights of activists and journalists in detention and prison. She said, “And if that trend is sustained, then we’ll be seeing more than a thousand executions this year. So I’m deeply concerned about that.” “In terms of other human rights allegations and violations, I wouldn’t say I witnessed a very dramatic change. “I received similar amounts of allegations and reports on various issues - from equal access to justice, women’s rights, freedom of expression, and discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities.” According to Sato, as soon as she was tasked with examining the human rights situation in Iran, she requested permission to visit Iran, and she remains hopeful that the Iranian government will allow her to travel there and conduct field research. Sato said the Islamic Republic’s engagement with the Special Rapporteur is better compared to many other countries. “In terms of many country mandate holders, some engage more than others. And in my view, the Islamic Republic of Iran engages a lot more than some of the other country mandate holders,” she said. “Some wouldn’t show up in the interactive dialogue. They [Iran] were there, you know, took the floor. I don’t really expect—I’m seven months into my position and I think having a country mandate can be extremely uncomfortable. “No government will be opening their arms to welcome me. So in some sense, I appreciate that they were there. What I would have liked is a little bit more substantive engagement with the content of the report,” she added. Sato’s first report says that with 900 recorded executions in Iran in 2024, Iran has become the world’s largest user of the death penalty. According to her report, half of the executions are related to drug offenses, followed by murder, and then national security crimes. She has also expressed concern about cases of women facing execution on security charges. The Special Rapporteur expresses grave concern over the imposition of the death sentence on child offenders, as illustrated by the case of Mohammadreza Azizi. Azizi was sentenced to death for a fatal stabbing committed when he was 17 years old, followed by two unsuccessful appeals to the Supreme Court in November 2021. Although his execution had been scheduled for 21 October 2024, it had not been carried out as of November 2024, with ongoing efforts to persuade the victim’s parents to accept blood money instead. Sato believes that the situation of women in Iran should be evaluated in a broader picture. Mai Sato’s first report notes that Iran ranks 121st out of 193 countries in the UN Development Program’s Gender Inequality Index. The UN Rapporteur points to women’s access to university education, which exceeds that of men, but simultaneously draws attention to the significant difference between women and men in employment. She believes that regarding the situation of women in Iran, one must delve deeper into legal structures, policies, and procedures. She said, “I think we need to look more deeply into the legal structures, policies and practices. In my report, I flag different laws for men and women in terms of marriage, divorce, access to inheritance, even for women to receive access to travel.” She added, “I also write in the report about women subject to the death penalty and also femicide cases. And the point that I want to flag there is that whether you’re a woman sentenced to the death penalty or a victim of femicide, they both share very similar stories.” According to Mai Sato, putting all these factors together can provide a picture of the situation of women in Iran. In Mai Sato’s first report, at least 179 femicides were recorded in 2024, with the explanation that Iran’s legal system provides protections for male perpetrators.
It is still unclear how member states of the United Nations will vote on continuing Mai Sato’s mission. However, she hopes her mission will be extended for at least another year. Mai Sato explains that she is obligated to present her reports on the current conditions in Iran to the Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, meaning she cannot, for example, address executions from previous years. However, she believes that if examining past executions can help explain current conditions, the past should also be addressed.>>
Source: https://iranwire.com/en/features/139977-exclusive-un-special-rapporteur-on-iran-raises-alarm-over-executions-surge/

and

Human Rights Watch Iran - March 20, 2025
<<UN Investigations on Iran Should Continue
Maintain Special Rapporteur, Broaden Fact-Finding Mission
The United Nations Human Rights Council should renew the mandate of the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran and ensure the continuation of a complementary international independent investigative mechanism with a broad mandate to build on the work of the UN fact-finding mission, 42 Iranian and international human rights organizations said on March 18, 2025, in a letter to member states. The fact-finding mission and the special rapporteur presented reports of their work to the Human Rights Council on March 18, 2025. The fact-finding mission, following two years of independent and thorough investigations and analysis of an extensive body of evidence, concluded that gross violations of human rights, some of which amount to crimes against humanity, are ongoing and that the authorities continue their persecutory acts against women and girls, members of minorities, and justice-seeking victims and their families in Iran. “The reports by the fact-finding mission and the special rapporteur present a grim picture of a full-fledged crisis of human rights and impunity in Iran that requires a robust response from the Human Rights Council,” said Hilary Power, UN Geneva director at Human Rights Watch. “With prospects for justice and remedy absent inside Iran, these mandates are critical for establishing meaningful paths toward accountability and supporting courageous justice-seeking victims, survivors, and their families.” Since the role was established in 2011, the UN special rapporteur on Iran has played a crucial role by monitoring and reporting on a wide range of human rights violations and issuing urgent appeals and other communications to protect individuals at risk, including those at imminent risk of execution. The fact-finding mission was established in November 2022 amid a brutal state crackdown on the protests that started following the death in morality police custody of Jina Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman arbitrarily detained in connection with compulsory and degrading compulsory veiling laws. In addition to conducting investigations, the mission was mandated to advance accountability for gross violations of human rights and crimes under international law, including by collecting and preserving evidence and identifying suspected perpetrators. In its first report in March 2024, the fact-finding mission concluded that in the context of their deadly crackdown on “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests, the Iranian authorities had committed serious human rights violations and crimes against humanity of murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearance, other inhuman acts, and persecution on the grounds of gender, intersecting with religion and ethnicity. In 2025, the mission concluded that some of these crimes have continued unbated. The human rights situation in Iran has continuously deteriorated. The authorities’ relentless assault on the right to life is ongoing, with well over 900 executions in 2024 alone. The death penalty is used against children, in flagrant breach of international law, and as a weapon of political repression, particularly to crush women and minorities’ activism and resistance. Women and girls and ethnic and religious minorities continue to face systematic and extreme forms of discrimination and state violence. The authorities have refused to remedy past and ongoing violations and crimes under international law. Instead, they have persecuted victims’ families and others seeking truth and justice. Their repression has not remained confined within the country’s borders. Iranian authorities’ harassment of dissidents, journalists, and media workers abroad, known as transnational repression, has escalated in recent years, with some facing threats to their lives.>>
Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/03/20/un-investigations-iran-should-continue

and


UN-the Special Rapport on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran
Human Rights Watch Iran, March 18, 2025
<<UN: Renew the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran’s Mandate
To: Member States of the United Nations Human Rights Council
Your Excellencies,
We, the undersigned Iranian and international human rights organizations, call your attention to the ongoing full-fledged human rights crisis in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and urge your government to support the renewal of the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as the continuation of a complementary international independent investigative mechanism with a sufficiently broad and robust mandate, to follow up on, and build upon, the work of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran (FFMI). The mechanism should have a mandate, inter alia, to investigate, collect and preserve evidence of recent and ongoing patterns of serious human rights violations and crimes under international law, and to pursue accountability efforts. The work of the FFMI and of the Special Rapporteur over the past two years have demonstrated the importance of these two distinct yet complementary mandates for addressing the protracted human rights and impunity crisis in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The Special Rapporteur ensures regular independent monitoring of and reporting on ongoing violations of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights in the country, engages with Iranian authorities and other stakeholders on these issues, brings issues to the attention of the international community through public statements, and critically, issues urgent appeals and other communications to protect the right to life and other human rights of individuals at risk. Meanwhile, the FFMI plays a critical role by thoroughly investigating patterns of violations of significant gravity and scale, establishing structural causes and reaching factual and legal findings that can support paths toward accountability. Its functions also entail preserving evidence and identifying those suspected of criminal responsibility, both of which are crucial for combating systematic impunity for recent and ongoing violations and preventing recurrence. As stressed by the Human Rights Council, impunity “creates an enabling environment for perpetrators, violates victims’ right to an effective remedy and perpetuates cycles of violence.”[1] After two years of thorough and independent investigations focused on the repression of the Woman Life Freedom protest movement since September 2022, the FFMI has established that Iranian officials have committed multiple crimes against humanity – murder, imprisonment, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, enforced disappearance, other inhuman acts, and persecution, including based on gender. Crucially, it also came to three conclusions. First, it concluded that serious human rights violations and crimes under international law are ongoing[2]. It states that violations and acts of persecution against women and girls and against minorities continue unabated. Despite repeated calls, Iranian authorities have failed to deliver truth, justice, and reparations and have taken no steps to address structural impediements to accountability. On the contrary, the FFMI found that authorities escalated repression against victims and families seeking truth and justice, as well as defenders and independent monitors, including through arbitrary detention, torture and other ill-treatment, death sentences and executions. These alarming findings should not remain confined to UN reporting. States should ensure that there are meaningful avenues of justice for victims and their families. Second, the FFMI found that the violent state repression of the Woman Life Freedom uprising was neither an isolated outburst, nor did it happen in a vacuum. Instead, it is part of a deeper pattern of lethal state repression aimed at crushing largely peaceful protests and silencing dissent – a pattern recently and most distinctly witnessed since 2017-2018, escalating in 2019 and continuing through since 2022. The systematic discrimination and violence against women and girls, members of ethnic and religious or belief minorities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, is not limited to the repression they face in times of public protests but permeates many aspects of their daily lives. There is a continuum between the repression of these groups during protests and their continued persecution beyond. Third, the FFMI found that the systematic impunity granted to Iranian authorities enables the recurring cycles of gross human rights violations, the continued persecution of women and girls, and the targeting of minorities and perceived dissenters[3]. The same institutions, often even the same individuals, have carried out successive waves of brutal crackdowns, emboldened each time by deeply entrenched institutionalized impunity that shields them. Recurring abuses can be prevented and meaningful steps toward justice can be taken only by fully taking stock of this repetitive cycle of violence and impunity and identifying and holding to account those suspected of criminal responsibility. For these reasons, it is critical that an investigation mechanism continues with a broader mandate and temporal scope, including interconnected patterns of serious human rights violations and the structural root causes of such violations. Your government should support, at the 58th session of the Human Rights Council, both renewing the Special Rapporteur’s mandate and continuing an international independent investigative mechanism with a sufficiently broad and robust mandate. We further urge member states to provide the capacity and resources to build upon the work already done by the FFMI to complete the mapping of and evidence gathering on victims and suspected perpetrators linked to successive and interconnected cycles of serious violations and crimes under international law. Victims and survivors of past and ongoing violations and crimes under international law in Iran need a holistic approach, including reporting, intervening urgently, investigating, carrying out legal analysis and identifying those responsible to ensure real prospects for human rights, justice, truth and reparation in Iran. We appeal to your government to respond to this need. We also appeal to your government to publicly condemn and demand an immediate end to the grave and persistent rights violations committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran and support the continuation of efforts aimed at ensuring that justice ultimately prevails for the people in Iran.
Source: https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/03/18/un-renew-special-rapporteur-situation-human-rights-irans-mandate

and

Iranwire - February 25, 2025 - By Elahe Ejbari
<<Engineered Division: How Iran Exploits Ethnic Tensions
Recent clashes between Kurdish and Azeri Turk communities during the Nowruz celebrations in northwestern Urmia reveal a deliberate pattern of ethnic manipulation by the Islamic Republic. What appears to be natural ethnic conflict results from decades-long government policy designed to create division and prevent unified opposition. The Islamic Republic systematically uses ethnic differences as tools of control, fostering tension where coexistence once prevailed. During the Nowruz celebrations, many Kurds in Urmia - as in other Kurdish cities and villages - took to the streets with dancing and celebration to welcome the ancient holiday. However, this presence provoked a reaction from Azeris in the same city, and suddenly, images of dancing and celebration were replaced by club-wielding individuals - among them the political figure Nader Ghazipour, a former representative of Urmia and retired IRGC member. Following is an article by Elaheh Ejbari, a Gen Z human rights activist and a Baluch woman who has been raising her voice against ethnic structures and discrimination for several years.
---
This article is an attempt to reduce the fear and threat that some of our compatriots, especially in Urmia and similar regions, feel regarding recent conflicts. I have tried to show that this contradiction is not an authentic ethnic reality, but a product of the government’s divisive policies. Iran has long been a multicultural and multi-ethnic country. From Turks and Kurds in West Azerbaijan to Baluch and Lors in the south and west of the country, this diversity has always been part of the Iranian national identity. Unfortunately, at certain critical moments, this diversity becomes a spark for conflict. Are these differences real? Or are they constructed by government policies? The truth is that ethnic contradictions in Iran are often fueled by government institutions. Repressive policies and the centralization of power - by denying ethnic rights and engineering differences - deepen social divides. A clear example of this situation was the protests of Turkish speakers in 2006 in response to the publication of a cartoon in a government newspaper, which clearly showed how ethnic provocation can arise from an official action. The government uses these contradictions as a tool to divert public attention from structural problems. On May 12, 2006, a cartoon by Mana Neyestani, a cartoonist in exile, was published in the Iran newspaper in the “Children and Youth” section, where the cartoonist humorously described how to deal with cockroaches through two characters: a teenage boy and a cockroach. In one section, the cockroach responded to the teenage boy using the Turkish word namana, meaning “What are you saying?” The publication of this cartoon caused widespread demonstrations in many Turkish-speaking regions. Following the demonstrations, the Iran newspaper was suspended and several journalists were arrested. After five months, the managing director of the Iran newspaper was acquitted, and Mana Neyestani went into exile. The pressure in the structure of the Islamic Republic is not just a physical tool - it is the main language of governance. Centralist policies and the suppression of linguistic, cultural, and political diversity have turned the public space into a field of unilateral power exercise. This process has led to psychological insecurity among people, which itself becomes an excuse for further exercise of repressive power. Centralist nationalism seeks to define Iran as a single nation with one language, while ethnic nationalism sometimes moves toward exclusivism in response to this pressure. Both of these forms of nationalism structurally block dialogue and social justice. The result, however, is the reproduction of violence instead of coexistence.
Woman, Life, Freedom: A New Hope for Equality
Against this cycle of violence, the Woman, Life, Freedom movement is a brilliant example of civil resistance.
The movement has risen from oppression and opened a horizon beyond class, people, or gender. This movement is not for domination, but for reclaiming human dignity in all its dimensions - from language and body to identity and choice. It is an example of true unity. Slogans such as “Azerbaijan is awake, it is supporting Kurdistan” in recent protests showed that when people free themselves from divisive policies, they turn to solidarity and unity. On social media, we also saw encouraging messages - both from Azeri Turks and Kurds. For example, Arian, a Kurdish activist, wrote, “As a Kurd, I say: Urmia belongs to the people of Urmia, whether Turkish or Kurdish. We are condemned to coexistence.” These sentences show that despite divisive efforts, the spirit of coexistence and unity is still alive in people’s hearts. Our problem is not just in the type of government - it’s in the model of governance. The concentration of power in the capital, the monopoly of resources, and the suppression of diverse identities have created conditions in which differences, instead of being an opportunity, have become a permanent threat. Federalism as a democratic and decentralized governance model can be an effective solution for rebuilding trust, fair distribution of power, and ensuring equal participation.
Federalism means entrusting administration to the people of each province without endangering the territorial integrity of the country. Countries such as India and Nigeria, with federal systems, have been able to ensure the coexistence of their diverse peoples. The experience of these countries shows that the division of power and respect for ethnic diversity not only do not lead to disintegration but strengthen national solidarity.
Coexistence, Not Confrontation
It seems that today, more than ever, we need solidarity. We can understand that making Turks and Kurds enemies is the wish of those who benefit from the distance between people. If, instead of confrontation, we turn to dialogue, we can stop the cycle of violence. We have been neighbors for centuries - we have shared bread and salt, and we have been partners in happiness and sorrow. Today, we can still be together, not against each other. Enemies create differences, but we can create unity ourselves. Let’s remember that Iranian identity is based on diversity, and no race or language can be considered an exclusive criterion. In my opinion, accepting this reality and moving toward participatory governance models like federalism is a big step toward justice, equality, and preserving national integrity.>>
Source: https://iranwire.com/en/guest-blogger/139947-engineered-division-how-iran-exploits-ethnic-tensions/

Women's Liberation Front 2019/cryfreedom.net 2025