In conjunction with the fourth anniversary of the killing of Mahsa Gina Amini, the Iranian authorities returned to tightening their internal control and escalating their measures against various forms of movement and protest, starting with arresting and summoning shop owners and merchants who participated in a large strike in Kurdish cities, all the way to opening judicial files against the organizers of a jogging race in Tehran, after women participated in it without wearing the obligatory hijab.
In the Kurdish cities, the security measures came after a large strike carried out on September 16, at the invitation of the coalition of political forces in Iranian Kurdistan, which was joined by shop owners and merchants in dozens of Kurdish-majority cities.
Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman, was arrested in Tehran on September 13, 2022 by the police unit responsible for enforcing the strict dress code imposed on women in Iran. She fell into a coma while in police custody, and was pronounced dead on September 16, 2022. Her death sparked anti-government protests around the world.
The Human Rights Network in Iranian Kurdistan reported on Wednesday that security agencies, including the Revolutionary Guards intelligence service and the Ministry of Intelligence, exerted extensive pressure on shop owners and merchants after the strike, including summoning, arresting, and forcing some of them to sign written pledges not to participate in future strikes, in addition to closing a number of commercial units with judicial orders.
Summons and pledges
According to the network’s statement, which was reported by the “Iran International” website, some of these measures were concentrated in Kamyaran and Sanandaj, where at least six shop owners in Kamyaran and at least four merchants in Sanandaj were arrested, while others were forced to sign pledges under threat.
A store owner in Kamyaran said, according to what was reported by the Human Rights Network in Iranian Kurdistan, that the Revolutionary Guards intelligence organization summoned a number of store owners who participated in the strike on the evening of September 16, and threatened them with closing their stores with red wax if they did not show up within hours.
According to the same source, a number of merchants went the same night to the intelligence headquarters, where they received threats to open judicial files against them. He said that an elderly store owner was beaten and insulted after he objected to the procedures in front of others.
The shop owners who were summoned, according to the same story, were forced to sign written pledges not to participate in future strikes.
As security measures continued, Ministry of Intelligence forces arrested at least six shop owners in Kamyaran, according to the network. Two of them were released on September 19, while four others remained in detention, and according to their families, no clear information was available about their conditions or places of detention.
In Sanandaj, the network reported that at least four merchants were arrested by the Ministry of Intelligence forces, while a number of other shop owners were forced to sign pledges after they were summoned to the Facilities Department.
Video clips and circulating reports indicate that the strike led to the closure of parts of Sanandaj market, at a time when the city witnessed a widespread security deployment.
Threats before the strike
Security pressures did not begin only after the strike. On September 15, a day before its scheduled date, websites and Telegram channels linked to the security services published a statement warning shop owners and unions against participating in calls for a strike.
The warning included a threat to close stores for a period of up to six months and take legal action against their owners if they participate.
The human rights organization “Hana” also reported that the Public Places Supervision Department of the Saqqez Police Command closed a number of commercial units in the city following the strike.
Pictures published by the organization showed papers placed on closed shops, on which it was written that the reason for the closure was “non-compliance with the laws of the union system,” with the activity of commercial units banned until further notice.
It is not clear, according to the information available, the specific violation on which the closure decisions were based, nor is it known the final number of stores that were closed, the period during which the procedures will continue, or the mechanism for their owners to object to them.
Hana also said that a number of family members of the organization’s members in Iran were summoned by the security services after the organization covered strikes in Kurdish cities, and they were subjected to threats and pressure because of their relatives’ human rights activities. The organization described these measures as aiming to influence the activity of human rights defenders.
Access to Mahsa Amini's grave was denied
The strike coincided with an intense security deployment in a number of Kurdish cities, especially in Saqqez, the birthplace of Mahsa Amini.
It was reported that security forces closed the roads leading to the Aiji Cemetery, where Amini's grave is located, and prevented her family and other citizens from reaching the site on the anniversary of her death.
It was also reported that the Revolutionary Guards emptied the waters of the Jaragh Wais dam in Saqqez, which led to the closure of side roads leading to the cemetery. The sources said that this procedure was repeated for the third year in a row at the time of Amini’s anniversary, with the aim of obstructing access to her burial site.
The strike came after the call of the coalition of political forces in Iranian Kurdistan, and included dozens of cities with a Kurdish majority, where shops and markets closed their doors in a move that carried a political and protest significance linked to the anniversary of Amini and the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement.
Alavi explained that the strike alone does not lead to regime change, but it could be part of a broader path that shows society’s ability to move and cohesion, considering that the extension of such movements to other regions of Iran will be an indication of the formation of a broader will to protest.
From markets to stadiums... prosecuting the organizers of the “Tehran Marathon”
In conjunction with these measures in Kurdistan, the Iranian authorities took judicial steps against the organizers of a sporting event in the capital, Tehran, after the participation of women without the compulsory hijab sparked widespread controversy.
The media center of the Iranian judiciary announced that the Public Prosecution in Tehran filed judicial charges against the officials and those organizing the Tehran 10-kilometre race, due to what it described as “non-compliance with legal and legal controls.”
The race was held on the morning of September 18 in the southwest of the capital, with the participation of thousands of women and men. One of the most notable scenes that attracted attention was the participation of women without wearing the obligatory hijab.
The race coincided with an organized government march called the “Iranian Fedayeen Maneuver.”
The Director General of Sports and Youth in Tehran Province, Habib Sotoudnejad, told the Tasnim Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, that athletes who are considered “violators” will face legal and disciplinary measures.
He added that the permit to hold the race was issued by the governorate’s security council, and that the participants signed “a pledge to adhere to Islamic controls” before the start of the event.
Stoudhinjad said that members of the executive crew and guard forces were deployed along the race track, and directed warnings to the participants when needed, adding that “some women were even prevented from participating in the race.”
For his part, the head of the Tehran Athletics Authority, Gholamreza Karimi, told the Fars Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard, that the race had obtained “all the necessary licenses.”
Karimi explained that the responsible party obtained written pledges from the participants before holding the race to adhere to the hijab and maintain Islamic regulations, and head covers were distributed.
He added that the circulating pictures showing the participation of women without the hijab do not, according to him, reflect the full picture of the event, noting that the majority of the participants were committed to wearing the hijab, and that publishing part of the pictures and their media coverage aimed, according to his account, to stir up controversy over the race.
A series of objections
The Tehran Marathon case is not an isolated case; The participation of women without the compulsory hijab in the Kish and Shiraz marathons has previously sparked reactions from security, political and religious officials in Iran, including President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Fars Agency also criticized the holding of the “Tehran Marathon,” recalling the controversy that in recent years has accompanied athletics competitions on Kish Island and the city of Shiraz, due to the way they were organized and the clothes of the participants.
The previous week, the Mahan Run half marathon, which was scheduled to be held in the city of Kerman, was cancelled, after the seminary in the province objected to women and men running next to each other.
