Mahsa Amini’s father Amjad Amini has reportedly been arrested by Iranian security forces. This is reported by Reuters with reference to a source close to Amini’s family and the Norway-based human rights organization Hengaw.
According to Hengaw, the arrest must have taken place when Amjad Amini left his home in Saqqez in the northwestern part of the country.
Large demonstrations are expected to be held both in Iran and around the world during Saturday. A large number of people have gathered at Sergel’s square in Stockholm.
– There are a lot of people who have come here to mark the anniversary, says Ronja Mårtensson, reporter.
The father is arrested
Shortly thereafter, he was reportedly released after being warned to mark the anniversary of his daughter’s death, according to Reuters, citing a statement by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network.
The details of the arrest have so far not been confirmed, nor have they been commented on by Iranian authorities.
Amjad Amini has also on several previous occasions been called in for questioning with the authorities and warned to pay attention to the anniversary of his daughter’s death, according to Radio Free Europe.
At the beginning of last week, another relative of Mahsa Amini, 30-year-old Safa Aeli, was also arrested in the family’s hometown.
“Hopeful for a change”
So today is the anniversary of Mahsa Jina Amini’s death.
– Many went hoping for a change, for the regime to fall. That has not been the case and the dissatisfaction is now even greater, says TV4’s Middle East correspondent Terese Cristiansson.
She was on site in Iran last spring. By then, the large street protests had been silenced, but the civil disobedience remained, says Terese Cristiansson. She visited a residential area where people stood on their balconies in the evening and shouted: “Death and dictatorship” and similar slogans.
– Just before I entered the studio, I received a text message that some had now started a hunger strike. There will be large demonstrations today, whatever the threat, she says in Nyhetsmorgon.