Tehran has been targeting those who support the protesters in Iran by arresting journalists and dismissing lecturers. Even experts who point out violations are being locked away.
Female members of the Iranian police special force follow a strict dress codeImage: Nikoubazl Irangene/imago images
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"We don't know which of us will be arrested next. We're very worried," Iranian journalists have revealed in background talks. They avoid interviews with foreign media, but try to keep the world informed of the situation in Iran through social media.
The journalist Milad Alavi was arrested on January 1. Why? "I don't know either," his brother posted on Twitter. Security officials had searched Alavi's apartment on December 13 and confiscated his phone and laptop.
Alavi had been reporting on the victims of the most recent protests and their families. The countrywide protests erupted in the autumn after the death of Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody. Human rights experts estimate that at least 470 demonstrators have been killed since last September, and over 18,000 arrested.
'Woman, life, freedom!': Iran marks 3 months of protests
The violent death of Jina Mahsa Amini in September has triggered the largest protest movement in decades against the repressive rule in the Islamic Republic. The Iranian state has reacted with full force.
Image: LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images
Face of a revolution
On September 13, 2022, Jina Mahsa Amini was arrested by the morality police in the Iranian capital, Tehran, allegedly because her clothes and headscarf did not comply with the official rules of the Islamic Republic. Three days later, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman died in the custody of the security authorities. Her death triggered an uprising across the country.
Image: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP
'Woman, life, freedom!'
On September 17, the uprising against the regime began at Amini's funeral in her Kurdish hometown of Saqqez: women removed their headscarves, waved them in the air and shouted "Jin, jiyan, azadi!" — in English, "Woman, life, freedom!" The call became the slogan of the growing protest movement. On October 26, thousands came to Aichi cemetery to mark 40 days since Amini's death, as seen here.
Image: UGC/AFP
Historic uprising against the ayatollahs
Amini's death marked the beginning of a historic movement. The protests against the repressive government have shaken all regions of the country, like here in Tehran at the end of September. And they haven't been limited to women — people of all ages, ethnicity and gender have taken part. It's the biggest uprising against the regime since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Image: AFP
Without hijab — and without fear
Over the past three months, more and more women in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj, in western Iran, have been taking to the streets without the obligatory hijab. They have shown great courage, as anyone who violates the compulsory veil risks lashes and imprisonment.
Image: SalamPix/abaca/picture alliance
Showing hair and attitude
Despite the threat, women and girls have not been intimidated. In October, these schoolgirls took off their headscarves and shouted "Death to the dictator!" — meaning Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Universities saw mass protests, and students, teachers and also oil workers took part in strikes across the country. The Kurdistan region was the scene of a general strike in early December.
Image: SalamPix/abaca/picture alliance
Regime reacts with violence
In an attempt to quash the movement, the regime has reacted with massive violence. Police and the notorious Basij paramilitary group have been sent in to break up the protests — here, police in Tehran approached a group of fleeing demonstrators with batons. Human rights organizations have estimated more than 400 people have been killed by security forces, including many children and youth.
Image: AFP
Randomness and brutality
According to eyewitness reports, police and militia have brutally beaten and fired at demonstrators, some of whom are said to have been shot in the back. Around 14,000 people are said to have been imprisoned for taking part in the demonstrations — like these women locked in a police van in Tehran.
Image: SalamPix/ABACA/picture alliance
Prisons filling up
The notorious Evin Prison in Tehran has become a symbol of repression. Political and intellectual opposition figures are being locked up here, made to survive catastrophic conditions including reported torture. In mid-October, a fire broke out at the prison and witnesses reported hearing gunfire. It remains unclear how many prisoners died or simply disappeared.
Image: UGC
Climbing without a headscarf
Prominent figures from the arts, culture and sports scenes have also taken part in the protests. At the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the national football team refused to sing the Iranian national anthem at their opening match. When climber Elnaz Rekabi, above, competed in Seoul without a hijab, the pictures made headlines around the world. However, she was quickly silenced and issued an apology.
Image: Rhea Kang/AFP
Cutting their hair
The protest movement has received support from around the world, with thousands demonstrating from Paris to San Francisco for regime change in Tehran. In Istanbul, this exiled Iranian woman cut short her hair in front of the Iranian consulate in solidarity with the oppressed women in her home country. Prominent women — and some men — have imitated the gesture worldwide.
Image: YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images
Symbolic support
The global support hasn't just been in the form of protests. On December 13, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was illuminated with the Kurdish words "Woman, life, freedom." In the United States, Time named Iranian women as the magazine's "Heroes of the Year."
Image: Markus Schreiber/AP/picture alliance
'No to the Islamic Republic'
The worldwide protests — here a demonstration in Toronto — have put pressure on the government in Tehran. Additional sanctions are putting a massive strain on the country's economy. The exchange rate of the rial has fallen by more than 20% against the euro and dollar since September, hitting a record low. Even before the demonstrations began, the country was suffering an acute financial crisis.
Image: Creative Touch Imaging Ltd/NurPhoto/IMAGO
Executed for 'enmity against God'
Two imprisoned protesters have already been executed: Rapper Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard, seen here. At least 38 other imprisoned protesters are facing execution for the crime of moharebeh, or "enmity against God." Even children can be executed in Iran.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
'Sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind'
The global community has reacted with horror to the news of the executions. The European Union condemned the deaths, and imposed further sanctions. Meanwhile, the protests, in Iran and abroad — including at the World Cup, above — continue. Following the adage "sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind," opponents of the regime have vowed that Jina Mahsa Amini will not have died in vain.
Image: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images
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Now the state is dealing with those who have spoken out about those who have been affected by the crackdown.
Dozens of journalists, academics behind bars
According to the Oslo-based NGO Iran Human Rights, at least 62 journalists are currently behind bars. Milad Alavi, who works for Tehran's daily paper Shargh, is now in the same prison as the well-known sociologist Saeed Madani. In late December, his paper had reported that Madani had received multiple visits from high-ranking officials of an unnamed ministry in prison.
"They were asking him for advice on how to end the uprising across the country," his lawyer, Mahmoud Behzadirad, later said in an interview with Shargh. Saeed Madani is said to have suggested ending the violence and taking protesters' rights into consideration.
Madani has been sentenced to nine years in jail, convicted on grounds of contributing to "building and leading anti-establishment groups" and spreading "propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran" through his books and articles.
The distribution of Madani's books was prohibited last summer, after the University of Tehran professor was arrested in May 2022. Back then, he had warned about inflation and scarce food supplies, stating that "these protests must be taken seriously, because they are directed against the entire political system, and they are recurrent."
Madani has been arrested several times in the past 13 years. In his books, he makes a case for solidarity within civil society and for the courage to stand up for one's convictions. And several of his university colleagues are being punished for following that idea.
Farshid Norouzi, professor for English literature at the University of Mazandaran, for example, told Instagram on January 2 that his contract had been canceled and that he would not be receiving any wages for the current semester. The reason: He had refused to pass on the names of students who had boycotted lectures to the security authorities.
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Activists organize much-needed support from abroad
"Of course, a number of lawyers known to fight for human rights were arbitrarily arrested," said Saeid Dehghan, a human rights lawyer. Dehghan has been living in Canada in recent months and is trying to build a network of experts who can offer council to those in Iran. There are hardly any independent lawyers left in Iran who can fight for their clients without having to fear prosecution or becoming a political prisoner themselves.
"We document the systematic rights violations, as well as the names of the judges handing down unjust sentences. We are in touch with the independent fact-finding mission of the UN Human Rights Council investigating abuses against citizens," Dehghan told DW.
Amnesty: At least 26 people in Iran at risk of execution
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One of the goals is to halt the enforcement of executions in Iran. On January 3, the US-based rights monitor HRANA reported that over half of the executions in the country were currently being conducted covertly. In 2022, only 35% of all executions had been officially announced. HRANA estimated that at least 565 people were executed in Iran last year, including two who were connected to the countrywide protests.
26 prisoners on death row
Twenty-six further prisoners are currently awaiting execution. They were sentenced to death in show trials meant to intimidate the population and put an end to the protests. At least 11 people have been sentenced to death, and another 15 have been accused of crimes that are punishable by death in Iran — including waging "war against God."
Writer and illustrator Mehdi Bahman is among them. He was sentenced to death by a court in Tehran after giving an interview with Israeli media.
Bahman, who has spent much of his life advocating for interfaith dialogue and peace, had endorsed normalizing ties between Israel and Iran. Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran's rulers have been hostile toward Israel.
Mehdi Bahman was arrested in October and charged with espionage. In December, without legal council, he was sentenced to death. Iran's rulers have accused foreign powers of instigating the protests throughout the country.
This article was originally published in German.
Correction, January 8, 2023: A previous version of this article misspelled the name of the University of Mazandaran. DW apologizes for the error.
