Iran, the repression against the families of the demonstrators continues, the lawyers are arrested to prevent them from doing justice

ROME – In addition to hanging, shooting and jailing Iranians to quell protests, Islamic Republic authorities are attacking the family members of those they killed and jailed. “Governments around the world should scale back their relations with the Islamic Republic without an immediate cessation of violence against protesters and their families,” writes the executive director of CHRI, the Center for Human Rights of IranHadi Ghaemi.

The story of Hossein and Mohammad Ekhtiarian. Hossein Ekhtiarian was first arrested and then beaten just for asking for information about his brother Mohammad, who has been detained since October 27, the day he was arrested during a demonstration. Mohammad is in a coma due to an infection caused by injuries sustained during his arrest. In capturing him, the officers shot him in the left leg. His brother Hossein, on the other hand, has been in prison since November 22 with a broken arm only because he tried to ask for information on his brother’s condition, reports the CHRI thanks to a source who remained anonymous for security reasons.

The story of Zeinab Molaei-Rad. Two months after security forces shot and killed her nine-year-old son, Kian Pirfalek, in Izeh, Khuestan province, Zeinab Molaei-Rad, who also reported the incident in a social media post, was suspended from his workplace “until further notice”. A source told CHRI that this is not the first time the Pirfalak family has come under pressure of this kind. On the day of Kian’s funeral, Zeinab Molaei-Rad addressed the crowd explaining what had happened, namely that the little boy had been shot and killed while he was in the car with his parents. Then state officials forced her to make false statements on television, threatening that they would interrupt the care of her husband in the hospital, who was also injured the day of Kian’s assassination.

The story of Atekeh Rajabi. After appearing in a video without the hijab, Atekeh Rajabi, who is a teacher, was also suspended from her job. “You didn’t fire me. It was I who refused to continue working with you. I cannot work with an institution that takes away the safety and peace of our children,” Rajabi later told the Coordinating Union of Teachers.

Threats to lawyers. The Islamic Republic authorities are using various tactics to prevent detained protesters from accessing a fair trial, including the arbitrary detention of dozens of lawyers. At least 44 lawyers have been arrested since September 2022. Others have been forced to resign after the court prevented them from preparing an adequate defence. This happened, for example, to the defenders of Armita Abbassi, a twenty-year-old girl who was tortured and raped in prison. The lawyers had very little time to prepare a defensive strategy and above all they were never given the opportunity to meet Armita in prison. The girl, accused of corruption, rebellion and acts of war, faces the death penalty.

Martyrs instead of rebels. A lawyer told CHRI that the parents of a protester killed by police had given him a mandate to shed light on what happened. After a few days, however, they backtracked saying they could not afford the legal fees. Eventually the lawyer discovered that the national security agencies had convinced them to remain silent in exchange for recognizing their son as a “martyr”. Thus they would receive a pension and a series of state benefits.

The economic question. Many young protesters arrested or killed belong to the working class and therefore are also victims of the government’s economic policies. A worker who has three children, one of whom died during the protests, and has only received a salary once in eight months, cannot ask for justice because he has to worry about feeding and clothing the other two.

The freedom to persecute. The lawyer who spoke anonymously to CHRI also said that many state institutions have been given unlimited power to persecute protesters through arbitrary regulations. For example, those that prohibit visits to prisoners or students from entering universities. In recent days, the rules governing universities have been updated with a new rule by virtue of which professors and students can be punished if they are registered in Telegram groups without permission.

The balance of the protests. At least 525 protesters, including 71 children, have been killed since the start of the demonstrations. More than 19,000 people have been arrested since September 2022. Four protesters have already been hanged without due process, 20 have been sentenced to death and at least 47 are facing charges that could carry the death penalty.