Paris: Iran is ratcheting up a crackdown ahead of the one-year anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, arresting prominent personalities, campaigners and relatives of those killed by security forces in protests last year, activists say.
The death in custody on September 16, 2022 of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rules for women, sparked months of protests that included calls for an end to Iran’s Islamic system.
The protests have now largely subsided, despite some sporadic outbursts, after a crackdown which saw thousands detained, according to the UN, and hundreds shot dead by security forces, according to activists.
But campaigners outside Iran say the authorities are acutely aware of the risk that the anniversary could spark more protests and say security forces have stepped up repression to prevent a repeat of the events of last autumn.
Those arrested this month have included the prominent singer Mehdi Yarrahi after he released a song urging women to remove their headscarves in defiance of the law.
Eleven women’s rights activists were detained in Gilan province, one of the flashpoint areas for protests last year, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Meanwhile, Amnesty International has said families of those killed in the crackdown on the movement have been subjected to “arbitrary arrest and detention” in a bid to enforce “silence and impunity” over the fate of their loved ones.
“These arrests are a blatant attempt by Iranian authorities to instil fear within the population ahead of the upcoming anniversary (and) to deter more protests,” Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the New-York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), told AFP.
In a report, Amnesty said families of victims killed in the crackdown across the country have been subjected to abusive interrogations, arbitrary arrest and detention and or unjust prosecution and sentencing in recent months.
“The cruelty of the Iranian authorities knows no bounds,” said Diana Eltahawy, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, accusing the Iranian authorities of a “sinister attempt to cover up their crimes.”
In a new example, security forces on Sunday arrested three close family members, including the mother, of Hananeh Kia, a woman in her early 20s shot dead by security forces in September 2022 during the initial phase of the protests, HRANA and the Hengaw rights group said.
The CHRI said in just eight days this month, 21 family members of victims were either summoned to court or detained in Iran.
Roya Boroumand, executive director of the US-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, said “victims’ family members have been targeted pretty systematically.”
“They have been arrested, summoned repeatedly and interrogated, or their houses are raided,” she said, adding pressure was being put on them not to post anything on social media, gather for commemorations or speak out.
The protests broke taboos that have prevailed in the Islamic republic since the fall of the shah in 1979, with women taking off their headscarves and slogans chanted against Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in street protests.
Amnesty has in a separate report said Iran has renewed its crackdown against unveiled women, with stepped-up patrols backed by surveillance cameras that can even identify women inside their cars. Images shared on social media indicate some women are however continuing to show defiance.
Meanwhile, Norway-based Iran Human Rights says 486 people have been executed in Iran this year, with the use of capital punishment aimed at “creating fear in society and to prevent more protests.”
While seven men have been executed in cases related to the protests, causing an international outcry, most of those hanged are convicted on drug and murder charges and are “low-cost victims of the Islamic republic’s killing machine,” it added.
According to the CHRI, Mashallah Karami, the father of executed protester Mohammad Mehdi Karami, who was hanged in January, was detained by security agents in Tehran on August 22.
There have also been reports of arrests in the Kurdish-populated area of western Iran from where Amini originated and which were the scene of the earliest protests.
Kurdish-focused Hengaw, based outside Iran, said Saro Mostajer — the brother of one of its board members, Jila Mostajer — had been arrested in Amini’s hometown of Saqez and taken to an unknown location.
Boroumand said the “coordinated” repression “aims at preventing the dissemination of news, videos and images of victims, commemorations, and other gatherings and avoid a renewed public mobilization inside and outside Iran.”
Ghaemi warned the “silence of the international community” in the face of the crackdown risked giving a “green light to the state security apparatus to continue muzzling civil society.”
Iran steps up crackdown ahead of Amini anniversary: activists
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Iran steps up crackdown ahead of Amini anniversary: activists
- Protests errupted last year after the death in custody of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress rules for women
- The protests broke taboos that have prevailed in the Islamic republic since the fall of the shah in 1979
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun, respected army chief
Widely seen as the preferred pick of army backer the United States, he is perceived as being best placed to maintain a fragile ceasefire and pull the country out of financial collapse.
After being sworn in at parliament, Aoun said “a new phase in Lebanon’s history” was beginning.
Analysts said Aoun, who turns 61 on Friday and is considered a man of “personal integrity,” was the right candidate to finally replace Michel Aoun — no relation — whose term as president ended in October 2022, without a successor until now.
A dozen previous attempts to choose a president failed amid tensions between Hezbollah and its opponents, who have accused the Shiite group of seeking to impose its preferred candidate.
Aoun has since 2017 headed the army, an institution that serves as a rare source of unity in a country riven by sectarian and political divides.
He has navigated it through a blistering financial crisis that has drastically slashed the salaries of its 80,000 soldiers, forcing him to accept international aid.
Since late November, he oversaw the gradual mobilization of the armed forces in south Lebanon after a ceasefire ended more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.
Under the truce, the Lebanese army has been deploying progressively alongside UN peacekeepers in the south as Israeli forces withdraw, a process they have to finish by January 26.
Speaking on Thursday, Aoun said the state would have “a monopoly” on arms.
The general with broad shoulders and a shaved head has stepped up talks with visiting foreign dignitaries since becoming army chief.
The man of few words was able to count on his good relations across the divided Lebanese political class to see him elected.
Aoun “has a reputation of personal integrity,” said Karim Bitar, an international relations expert at Beirut’s Saint-Joseph University.
He came to prominence after leading the army in a battle to drive out Daesh from a mountainous area along the Syrian border.
“Within the Lebanese army, he is perceived as someone who is dedicated... who has the national interest at heart, and who has been trying to consolidate this institution, which is the last non-sectarian institution still on its feet in the country,” Bitar told AFP.
Aoun was set to retire in January last year, but has had his mandate extended twice — most recently in November.
Mohanad Hage Ali, from the Carnegie Middle East Center, noted that “being the head of US-backed Lebanese Armed Forces, Joseph Aoun has ties to the United States.”
“While he maintained relations with everyone, Hezbollah-affiliated media often criticized him” for those US ties, he told AFP.
Washington is the main financial backer of Lebanon’s army, which also receives support from other countries including Qatar.
An international conference in Paris last month raised $200 million to support the armed forces.
The military has been hit hard by Lebanon’s economic crisis, and at one point in 2020 it said it had cut out meat from the meals offered to on-duty soldiers due to rising food prices.
Aoun, who speaks Arabic, English and French, hails from Lebanon’s Christian community and has two children.
By convention, the presidency goes to a Maronite Christian, the premiership is reserved for a Sunni Muslim and the post of parliament speaker goes to a Shiite Muslim.
Aoun is Lebanon’s fifth army commander to become president, and the fourth in a row.
Military chiefs, by convention, are also Maronites.
Egypt top diplomat meets PLO, urges Palestinian unity
- During his meeting with the PLO delegation in Cairo, Badr Abdelatty “reaffirmed Egypt’s supportive stance toward the Palestinian Authority”
CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign minister met a Palestine Liberation Organization delegation Thursday, calling for “unity” and the strengthening of the Palestinian Authority amid Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza.
The conflict began after the Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, triggering massive retaliation.
During his meeting with the PLO delegation in Cairo, Badr Abdelatty “reaffirmed Egypt’s supportive stance toward the Palestinian Authority,” his office said in a statement.
The minister also reiterated “Egypt’s rejection of any plans to displace Palestinians from their lands,” it added.
Last month, Egypt hosted talks between rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas to discuss bringing post-war Gaza under PA control.
Fatah, which governs parts of the occupied West Bank under the PA, dominates both the PA and the PLO, an internationally recognized representative of the Palestinian people.
It has been excluded from Gaza since Hamas seized control in 2007.
On Thursday, Abdelatty also discussed with the PLO delegation Egypt’s efforts to end the Gaza war, reach a ceasefire agreement and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
Mediators Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been engaged in months of talks to cement a truce in Gaza, but so far to no avail.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that a Gaza ceasefire remained close but added it may not happen before President Joe Biden hands over to Donald Trump.
“I hope that we can get it over the line in the time that we have,” said Blinken, who leaves office with Trump’s inauguration on January 20.
Hamas said at the end of last week that indirect negotiations in Doha had resumed, while Israel said it had authorized negotiators to continue the talks in the Qatari capital.
A previous round of mediation in December ended with both sides blaming the other for the impasse, with Hamas accusing Israel of setting “new conditions” and Israel accusing Hamas of throwing up “obstacles” to a deal.
Qatar, France among first to congratulate new Lebanon president
- French foreign ministry said Joseph Aoun's election “opens a new page" for Lebanon
- Qatari foreign ministry called for “stability”
PARIS: France on Thursday welcomed the election by Lebanese lawmakers of army chief Joseph Aoun as president after a two-year vacuum at the top, urging the formation of a strong government to drag the country out of a political and economic crisis.
Extending France’s “warm congratulations” to Aoun, the French foreign ministry said his election “opens a new page for the Lebanese” and urged “the appointment of a strong government” that can help the country recover.
Qatar praised the election of Aoun as president on Thursday, calling for “stability” after the more than two year vacancy was filled.
“The State of Qatar welcomes the election of Lebanese army commander General Joseph Aoun,” the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that it hoped his election would “contribute to establishing security and stability in Lebanon.”
Italian foreign minister to meet Syria's new rulers in Damascus
- Antonio Tajani said he would push Syria’s transitional government to pursue an “inclusive political process”
ROME: Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Wednesday he would travel to Syria Friday where he plans to announce an initial development aid package for the country ravaged by years of war.
Tajani’s trip follows those by his French and German counterparts, who visited the Syrian capital last week to meet Syria’s new rulers after they toppled Bashar Assad's regime in a lightning offensive last month.
“It is essential to preserve territorial integrity and prevent (Syria’s) territory from being exploited by terrorist organizations and hostile actors,” Tajani told parliament.
Western powers have been cautiously hoping for greater stability in Syria, a decade after the war triggered a major refugee crisis that shook up European politics.
Tajani did not provide any details about what he called a “first package of aid for cooperation and development.”
Tajani said he would push Syria’s transitional government to pursue an “inclusive political process” that “recognizes and enhances the role of Christians as citizens with full rights.”
Ahead of his trip, Tajani is set Thursday to meet with the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Britain and the United States over the Syria situation, with the drafting of a new constitution and Syria’s economic recovery on the agenda.
The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Kaja Kallas, was expected in Rome for the meeting.
Thousands of Alawites mourn 3 killed by foreign Islamists: monitor, witness
- “Thousands of mourners gathered at the funeral of three Alawite farmers from the same family,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
- The civilians were killed on Wednesday in the village of Ain Sharqia
DAMASCUS: Thousands of Syrians from ousted President Bashar Assad’s Alawite community mourned on Thursday three civilians killed by foreign Islamist allies of the country’s new authorities, a war monitor and an attendee said.
Since Assad’s ouster, violence against Alawites, long associated with his clan, has soared, with the monitor recording at least 148 killings.
“Thousands of mourners gathered at the funeral of three Alawite farmers from the same family, including one child, killed by foreign Islamist fighters allied to Syria’s new authorities,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
The civilians were killed on Wednesday in the village of Ain Sharqia, in the Alawite heartland of Latakia province, the Observatory said.
“Down with the factions,” some of those in attendance chanted in reference to armed groups, according to footage shared by the monitor.
Mourner Ali told AFP that people had called for those responsible for the killings to be punished and for foreign fighters to leave so that local policemen affiliated with the new authorities could take their place.
“We can’t have people die every day,” he said, asking to be identified only by his first name to discuss sensitive matters.
“We want security and safety to prevail; we support the transitional authorities. We do not want any more killings after today.”
Rami Abdel Rahman, who heads the Observatory, told AFP the mourners also demanded that Syria’s new rulers free thousands of detained soldiers and conscripts.
The Alawite community was over-represented in the country’s now-defunct armed forces.
On Tuesday, three Alawite clerics were also killed by unknown gunmen on the road from Tartus to Damascus, the monitor said.
Another cleric and his wife were found dead in the Hama countryside Thursday after they were abducted a day earlier.
Last month, angry protests broke out in Syria over a video showing an attack on an Alawite shrine, with the Observatory reporting one demonstrator killed in Homs city.
Syrian authorities said the footage was “old” and that “unknown groups” were behind the attack, saying republishing the video served to “stir up strife.”
The alliance spearheaded by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), which seized Damascus and ousted Assad on December 8 after a lightning offensive, has sought to reassure minority communities in the Sunni Muslim majority country.
Assad had long presented himself as a protector of minority groups.
