Iranian Regime Targets Kurdish City
in Crackdown on Protests
Iran has deployed troops to a Kurdish-majority city in an attempt to regain control of the town that was taken over by protesters in recent days.
“The regime is actively terrorizing innocent Iranians in the Kurdish city of Mahabad and has also turned off their power and internet,” Lisa Daftari, the editor in chief of the Foreign Desk, told Fox News Digital.
Daftari’s comments come after ceremonies were held Sunday for two protesters who were recently killed in the small Kurdish-majority city of Mahabad, according to a report from Iran International Sunday. Those ceremonies soon turned to fierce protesting and the protesters gaining control of the city.
Gunfire could be heard in videos taken throughout the city as the protests intensified, with the Iranian regime eventually responding by cutting power and internet access in parts of Mahabad.
Videos published on social media showed the streets of Mahabad packed with military vehicles, with authorities reportedly imposing martial law in the city. In one incident, people gathered for what was said to be a speech from the governor, but Iranian forces opened fire on the crowd, resulting in a still unknown number of casualties.
“Saturday evening, November 19, the Iranian regime appears to have imposed martial laws in the Kurdish city of Mahabad. Iran’s terrorist Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has reportedly entered Mahabad with heavy military weapons and equipment… The lives of many people are in danger,” The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan said in a statement on the situation Saturday.
With those protests still raging, Daftari said the country’s Kurdish minority serves as a natural target for the regime’s violent pushback.
“It’s no coincidence that the regime is particularly fixated on killing Kurds both inside and outside its borders,” Daftari said. “During the ongoing revolution, which has now endured over two months, the regime has used every opportunity to violently crack down on peaceful protesters while the world sits idly by. The Iranian people are calling on mainstream media outlets to cover their movement and for Western leaders to support them in their endeavor.”
Iran's judiciary has summoned five actresses and other public figures in the country to seek explanations for their support of protests against the death in custody of young Kurdish-Iranian woman Mahsa Amini after she was arrested for allegedly wearing the veil incorrectly.
Protest in Australia against crackdown on demonstrations in Iran -
The actresses have been identified by the official Iranian Judiciary agency, Mizan, as Elnaz Shakerdost, Mitra Hayar, Baran Kaushari, Sima Tirranzah and Hengeme Ghaziani, all of whom have been cited for publishing unspecified "provocative content."
Related video: Iran issues new death sentences as protests enter third monthDuration 1:12
As of this Sunday, Golmohammadi and Kosari's pages were no longer available on Instagram.
Likewise, the Tehran Prosecutor's Office has also summoned Persepolis FC soccer club coach Yahya Golmohammadi and former reformist MPs Mahmud Sadeghi and Parvaneh Salahshouri to testify, according to Mizan's information.
At least 342 people have been killed, including at least 43 minors and 26 women, during the authorities' crackdown on protesters over Amini's death, according to the latest toll this week by the NGO Iran Human Rights.
Iranian Women Are Protesting, And They're All Using This Rallying Cry
Sabrina Talbert
Wed, November 16, 2022
On September 16, a 22-year-old woman named Mahsa Amini died in custody after being arrested by Iran's morality police in Tehran. Amini, who is Kurdish, had initially been arrested for wearing her hijab "improperly," but collapsed at a detention facility and slipped into a coma, according to BBC.
Since then, mass protests have broken out across Iran and the world, pushing for a change in Iranian leadership and an end to years of gender discrimination. After Amini's death, women have bravely opted to not wear their hijabs in public as a form of solidarity, sometimes burning them or even cutting their hair. The Washington Post has called these protests "the longest major demonstrations against Iran’s cleric-led security state." Meanwhile, Iranian authorities claim that Amini died of preexisting medical conditions, and have suggested that protesters are rioting after being "incited by third-party countries to destabilize Iran," the outlet says.
One of the most common slogans being used during these protests: "Jin, Jiyan, Azadi," translates to "Women, Life, Freedom," and Meghan Markle was even spotted recently sporting a T-shirt with the slogan on it. So what does the phrase mean, where does it come from, and how does it relate to Amini's death?
Read on for all the details about the rallying cry. Plus, details on the current status of the estimated 15,000 protesters that have been taken into custody since the movement began.
What does the slogan mean?
Simply put, "Women, Life, Freedom" is used to express the desire for, and commitment to, equality, safety, and choice for women in Iran.
Iranian women have demanded a role in their society for decades. After the Iranian Revolution in 1979 led to the ousting of the monarchy and establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, women saw their rights restricted and mandatory hijab-wearing enforced, leading them to speak out against the harsh dress codes and gender disparities they faced, per History Today. This struggle for equality has continued into the present day.
The formation of the morality police stems back to the pressure put on women to wear the veil following the Iranian Revolution from people on the streets and members of the police force. But that pressure only increased over time, and by the end of the Iran-Iraq war 1990, the morality police was formally established, per NPR. Now, women have to wear their hijabs, cannot wear tight-fitting clothing, and cannot have raised sleeves, per Time.
Flashing forward to present day, crowds began chanting "Women, Life, Freedom," during Amini's funeral, per History Today.
Where did the slogan come from?
The slogan was originally used during the Kurdish freedom movement in the late 20th Century, where members of the Kurdish women's movement used it in response to persecution from the government in Iran, Iraq, Turkey, and Syria.
Additionally, "Jin, jiyan, azadî” was also associated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a socialist offshoot of the freedom movement, per LanguageOnTheMove.
What is going on with the 15,000 protest prisoners?
As of right now, roughly 15,000 people have been detained by the Iranian government for participation in the protests sparked by Amini's death. Over 1,000 people are already facing charges such as “waging war against God," and some Iranian legislators are asking for harsher punishments for the protesters, per The Washington Post.
In a sweeping vote, more than 220 of the 290 members of Iran's parliament voted in favor of using the death penalty for protesters, per CNN. However, it is not clear at this time how many detainees would be affected by this decision, what next steps are, or when harsher punishments, including the death penalty, might be put into action.
At least one protester in custody has been given the death penalty so far for committing “corruption on earth," according to The Washington Post, and at least 326 people have been killed during the protests, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO (IHRNGO), per CNN. Others arrested also face charges that carry the death penalty, including a rapper named Toomaj Salehi, and the two female journalists who broke the Amini story, The Washington Post reported.
What else is there to know about the current situation?
While the protests roar on across the country, younger Iranians are facing intense threats from the morality police, especially since children and teens are putting themselves on the protests' front lines.
Iranian officials have shared that the average age of protesters is 15 years old, per The New York Times. And already, dozens have been taken to adult detention centers. Additionally, 500 to 1,000 minors are currently in custody, with little to no information being released on their statuses, The New York Times reported.
High schools and college universities have also been the target of raids, which have reportedly resulted in 50 deaths.
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