On September 16th, we remember the 22-year-old who died in police custody, sparking outrage. Mahsa Amini was arrested by the Hijab police on September 14th while walking with her brother. She was supposed to be taken for re-education about appropriate hijab but was violently attacked in the police van. She fell into a coma for 2 days and died. Shockingly, no one has been held accountable, and the regime continues to suppress those seeking answers.
Protests erupted during Mahsa’s funeral, spreading across Iran, including Tehran, Zahedan, Karaj, Abadan, Bushehr, Kerman, Mashhad, and Gilan. Women defiantly cut their hair and removed their headscarves in protest of the oppressive dress code. The regime responded with brutality, using live ammunition.
The protests continued, and a report by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) revealed shocking numbers: 520 killed in the first 4 months, including 70 minors, and 20,000 arrests. Videos captured the security forces' violence, even recording the murders of two women documenting regime abuses. The Guardian reported on the regime's brutal tactics, including targeting women with shotgun pellets in genitals and shooting protestors in the eyes with pellet guns, resulting in permanent injuries.
Amnesty International confirmed horrific torture and abuse, including beatings, lashings, electric shocks, and sexual violence against minor girls and boys. CNN's special report exposed a network of black sites for torture and abuse.
The regime weaponized the death penalty, executing individuals without due process. Seven individuals have been executed in Tehran, Mashhad, Karaj, and Esfahan. None of them had access to their lawyers and their family members were not notified of when the sentence was going to be carried out. In other parts of the country, such as Baluchistan and Kurdistan, the number of executed protestors is drastically higher. The United Nations High Commissioner condemned the "weaponization of criminal procedures." Bereaved families suffered human rights violations, including beatings, arrests, and desecration of graves.
The Iranian regime's systematic repression of dissent is clear, and it's time for international action. The United States and the global community must go beyond statements and diplomacy. Legal actions must be taken to hold Iranian officials accountable for their widespread human rights violations.
The men and women, as well as boys and girls in Iran, have been bravely standing against the regime’s violence and crimes and have consistently voiced their intention to topple the totalitarian Islamic Republic regime in Iran and establish a new democratic system following the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Iranian people aspire to bring peace and stability to the Middle East region which has been in turmoil for a very long time.
