Brother of Slain Iranian Protester Imprisoned

Farhad Zare, the brother of slain Iranian protester Milad Zare, was arrested on Thursday and transferred to Babol’s Mati Kola Prison in the central-northern part of the country in Mazandaran province.

According to pro-bono Dadban Legal Group, Farhad will be serving a one-year sentence simply for advocating for justice for his brother Milad.

In April, Babol’s Revolutionary Court convicted Farhad to one year in prison.

Milad was shot by security forces at the back of his head on September 20, 2022, during Iran’s Woman, Life, Freedom, uprising in Babol, and reportedly died in hospital. Milad was killed only days before his birthday.

Farhad Zare had been repeatedly summoned and threatened by security agencies following his brother’s death.

Last month, the Babol Revolutionary Court sentenced him to one year in prison.

The charge against Farhad was reportedly “propaganda against the Islamic Republic”, a charge commonly used by the Iranian authorities against slain protestors’ families and activists.

Iran’s authorities have increasingly placed pressure on slain protestors' families, often building cases against them to stop them from seeking justice.

Moreover, on Thursday, Reza Babrnejad, the brother of another slain protestor of the 2022 protests, Mehdi Babrnejad, was arrested again after only days of being released on bail. In May Reza was reportedly arrested for allegedly posting stories on Instagram following Ebrahim Raisi’s helicopter crash.

Many such families have been arrested since the uprising. Last year, at least 70 family members of slain protestors, including nine children under the age of 18 were detained between March - September 2023, according to Human Rights Organization Hengaw. Farhad was among those arrested in September 2023.

Farhad’s family has been subject to ill-treatment and harassment at the hands of the Iranian authorities. Following Milad’s death, videos emerged online of heavy state security forces at a mourning ceremony for the 40th day after Milad’s death.

Amnesty International has condemned the harassment of slain protestors' families, urging the International community to call on Iranian authorities to respect the rights of freedom of expression of the victim’s families, and “quash all unjust convictions and sentences against them and drop all charges against those facing reprisals for speaking out.”