https://arab.news/bacd3
- Iranian government had been referring to the protests as 鈥榬iots鈥� and 鈥榮edition鈥� to suppress them
DUBAI: Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has been arrested in Tehran by security forces for 鈥榠nciting riots鈥� that were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while on police custody.
Before her arrest, Hashemi had said that the Iranian government has been referring to the protests for the past days as 鈥榬iots鈥� and 鈥榮edition鈥� to suppress them, was used as the basis for her detention, news website Radio Farda reported.
Amini, who is Kurdish, was visiting Tehran with her family to visit relatives when she was accosted by the notorious morality police for allegedly breaching Iran鈥檚 strict dress code 鈥� including wearing of the hijab or head covering 鈥� and eventually arrested.
Her relatives claimed the beatings Amini received from the morality police, including a violent blow to the head that caused her death.
鈥淲hat [authorities] want to convey is that these are not protests, they鈥檙e riots, but in fact they are protests,鈥� Radio Farda quoted Hashemi in an audio recording it obtained.
鈥淭hose who have seen the protests know that, for example, if the youth set fire to garbage cans, it鈥檚 because the [security forces] have used tear gas and they want to neutralize it; or when they beat a member of the security forces it鈥檚 because they have been attacked and they鈥檙e defending themselves,鈥� she said.
Meanwhile, hundreds of academics issued an open letter urging feminist communities to join them in building transnational solidarity with women and marginalized groups in Iran.
The letter was signed by academics including those from universities in Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia who said that the death of Amini was 鈥榓mong many other state murders committed systemically and purposefully by the gender-apartheid regime of Iran.鈥�
鈥淭his country-wide revolt is against not only the brutal murder of Mahsa but also the essence of the Islamic regime,鈥� the letter said. 鈥淭he demand is loud and clear: an end to a theocratic regime whose multi-faceted violence against marginalized bodies is manifested in Mahsa鈥檚 death.鈥�
keywords