Iran: two months after the death of Mahsa Amini, the fear of the worst seizes exiles and NGOs
Photo obtained by AP outside Iran shows Iranians protesting the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini after she was detained by morality police, in Tehran, Thursday, October 27, 2022. AP
Text by: RFI Follow
3 mins
Two months ago this Wednesday, November 16, the world learned of the death of the young Iranian Kurd Mahsa Amini after her arrest by the morality police of Tehran.
The movement could take a new breath this week which therefore marks two months of demonstrations against the regime but also the third anniversary of the demonstrations of 2019. In Iran, while a general strike has been declared for three days since Tuesday, November 15, the repression hardens.
Abroad, exiled Iranians are also trying to support the movement over time.
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The young Bahar lives in Paris, but for two months, her heart and her guts have been in the streets of Iran.
Five days ago, she learned of the death of three of her friends, three sisters who were in their twenties.
“
I spoke with the brother of these girls, he does not believe it, he told me that with his sisters he was in a demonstration in the street, he said that suddenly the police arrived, he said they started running
,” the young girl confided to
Oriane Verdier
, from RFI's international service.
In the panic, the young man lost his sisters, according to Bahar.
He would have finally found their bodies in an alley, beaten up, their skulls shattered.
It was at the hospital that a doctor would have confirmed their death.
“
Always, I think about it.
I think I have to do something for the people in Iran, for my friends, for the women, the men, for the Iranians,
continues the young girl.
I have already taken part in all the demonstrations in Paris, but that is not enough.
I think I have to do something, but I don't know what.
»
For lack of anything better, Bahar tries to testify on behalf of his relatives.
Faced with the hardening of the repression, the demonstrators who remained in Iran fear more and more to express themselves directly in the media.
► To read also: Strikes, demonstrations: in Iran, the movement pays tribute to the protest of 2019
"
There may be thousands of death sentences
"
On Sunday, a court in Tehran sentenced a protester to death.
In total, between 14,000 and 20,000 people are currently in prison for taking part in the movement, according to
Iran Human Rights
.
The director of this NGO, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, is worried about a possible multiplication of death sentences in the days to come.
"
We are very worried about those arrested,
" he said.
According to official reports, twenty of them are already at risk of being sentenced to death in addition to the person already sentenced.
We also have off-the-record reports of many trials lasting no more than a few minutes before sentencing.
We are therefore afraid of witnessing a new wave of executions.
This is why we ask the international community to send a strong message to the Islamic Republic: "The execution of protesters is unacceptable and will have serious consequences."
If the Iranian authorities feel that the political cost of these executions is negligible, then they will.
We must not forget who is in power.
Iran's president himself headed a death commission that sentenced several thousand people to death.
»
تهران (پونک)- اعتراضات خیابانی ادامه دارد.
شامگاه سه شنبه ۲۴ آبان ۱۴۰۱#مهسا_امینی #IranRevolution #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/HubBWeZ7jr
— Iran Human Rights (IHR NGO) (@IHRights) November 15, 2022
► To read also:
Day of writers in prison: in Iran, the fight against cultural censorship stronger than ever
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