Evin Inmates Stage Protest On Mahsa Anniversary

On the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini, detainees in the women's ward of Tehran's Evin Prison gathered in protest.

Chanting slogans of dissent against the regime, the inmates took a stand by refusing to enter their cells and set fire to their headscarves in the prison courtyard.

Seven political prisoners, namely Azadeh Abedini, Sepideh Gholian, Shakila Manafzadeh, Golrokh Iraee, Narges Mohammadi, Mahboubeh Rezaei, and Vida Rabbani, jointly declared their intent to hold a sit-in within the prison courtyard.

Their motivation, they proclaimed, was to "support the people and protest against the regime." This symbolic gesture served as a poignant denunciation of what they termed the "tyranny of the religious authoritarian regime," with the protest occurring on the day when Mahsa Amini lost her life under the pretext of compulsory hijab.

In a statement conveyed via Narges Mohammadi's Instagram page on Friday, the group called upon the people of Iran and the global community to amplify the voices of dissent and opposition, emphasizing the importance of standing united against injustice.

In a demonstration of solidarity with the ongoing protests, a number of other political detainees embarked on a hunger strike. Ali Younesi, Mostafa Tajzadeh, Saeed Madani, Hossein Razzagh, Mehdi Mahmoudian, and Mohammad Najafi issued a letter from Evin Prison, announcing their decision to initiate a hunger strike on Saturday.

In the days preceding the anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death, numerous calls for a nationwide strike and demonstrations, both within Iran and across international cities, have gained momentum.