A group of female prisoners at Tehran’s Evin Prison started a hunger strike Sunday to mark the second anniversary of the nationwide protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody.
An Instagram account linked to jailed Nobel peace laureate Narges Monammadi said 34 female prisoners began the strike on the anniversary of the 'Woman, Life, Freedom' movement and the killing of Mahsa [Jina] Amini."
Amini died on Sept. 16, 2022, days after being detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating Iran's law requiring women to wear a hijab.
Her death ignited widespread protests throughout Iran, with demonstrations erupting in the streets, universities and schools that persisted for months.
During the government crackdown on the 2022 nationwide protests, hundreds of citizens were killed, and thousands more were injured or arrested.
The Kurdistan Human Rights Network reported Sunday that Ministry of Intelligence officials have surrounded the home of Amini's parents in Saqqez, issuing threats and forbidding the family from leaving their house or visiting their daughter's grave.
News reports indicate that tradespeople and shopkeepers in western and northwestern Iranian cities — including Sanandaj, Saqqez, Divandarreh, Mahabad, and Bukan — are staging a strike on the second anniversary of Amini's death.
Amini's mother, Mozhgan Eftekhari, took to Instagram on the anniversary of her daughter's death to address those responsible, declaring, "They will be eternally disgraced in history."
Eftekhari, reflecting on the events of two years ago, emphasized that Mahsa Amini was seized by "those dark-hearted individuals who could not tolerate the beauty of their nation's daughter" during her trip to the capital.
Amini's family had alleged she was beaten in the police van after her arrest. Police had rejected the allegations, saying Amini died after being taken to a hospital because she had suffered a heart attack. Her family disputes that claim.
