In an Iranian capital under tension, an activist who chose to call herself “Mahsa”, in tribute to Mahsa Amini, tells “Special Envoy” of an arbitrary and violent arrest on the sidelines of a demonstration. Two men in civilian clothes would have thrown themselves on a boy and a girl of 15-16 years old, she explains. “They threw the boy on the ground and beat him, beat him.” “Mahsa” would then have asked for help from a man present in the crowd at his side… “But it was one of them! she continues. He ran towards the young people, and he beat them too.” According to the young woman, these members of the police in civilian clothes, sometimes dressed in fashion, without beards, would be impossible to identify.
“And then finally, they embarked the young people in one of their vans, unmarked. We could not know which unit they belonged to. This kind of arrest is worrying, because we do not know what they are going to make do with the people they arrest, and we don’t know where to go to find out. We have no way of knowing that they are alive, not alive, where and under what conditions they are being held.”
It was the death of Mahsa Amini, after her arrest by the morality police for an outfit that did not respect the strict dress code of the Islamic Republic, which set fire to the powder. Since September 16, Tehran has been living to the rhythm of demonstrations and the fierce repression of the ultra-conservative regime that came to power in 2021.
“Do you want me to list the rights we are deprived of, we women? I’ll start with the rights we have, it will go faster. We have 4, 5 rights, in all and for all.”
“Mahsa”, Iranian activistto “Special Envoy”
LRallies are multiplying, particularly against the obligation to wear the veil. This hijab, which “Hinders you in your movements, in everything you do”, “Mahsa” does not want it, any more than Sharia. Words that could earn him several years in prison, in a country where women only have “the right to marry, to bear children, the right to be someone’s wife, mother or sister”, she enumerates.
Excerpt from “Iran: freedom unveiled”, a report to see in “Special Envoy” on September 29, 2022.
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