Mahsa Amini: one year on
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Tehran has lost the battle for credibility

One year after Mahsa Amini died in police custody, sparking nationwide protests, the Iranian regime has quashed all displays of public discontent. But the 2022 protest movement was not a lost cause and its impact on Iranian history cannot be undermined
One year after Mahsa Amini died in police custody, sparking nationwide protests, the Iranian regime has quashed all displays of public discontent. But the 2022 protest movement was not a lost cause and its impact on Iranian history cannot be undermined

One year after Mahsa Amini died in police custody, sparking nationwide protests, the Iranian regime has quashed all displays of public discontent. But the 2022 protest movement was not a lost cause and its impact on Iranian history cannot be undermined, writes Leela Jacinto

The crackdown was increasing, the screws of repression getting tighter, in the weeks leading up to the first death anniversary of Mahsa Amini, also known as Jina Amini.

The 22-year-old’s death in police custody on 16 September 2022 sparked protests across Iran for months until the authorities responded with brutal tactics, forcing protesters indoors or into exile. But with the anniversary of Amini’s death approaching, the regime was taking no chances.

Weeks ahead of the one-year milestone, the families of protesters killed by security forces were barred from holding commemorative gatherings at their graves, in what Amnesty International called the “cruellest restrictions”. Several women’s rights activists were also detained and accused of planning events to mark the death anniversary, according to Human Rights Watch.

One year ago, Amini was arrested by Iran’s Gasht-e-Ershad – or guidance patrols, better known as the “morality police” – for “improperly” wearing the mandatory hijab.

© France24 2023

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