/ IHRights#Iran: Hossein Amaninejad and Hamed Yavari were executed in Hamedan Central Prison on 11 June. Hossein was arrested… https://t.co/3lnMTwFH6z13 Jun

Families of Slain Protesters and Activists Arrested Days Prior to Anniversary

16 Nov 21
Families of Slain Protesters and Activists Arrested Days Prior to Anniversary

Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); November 16, 2021: Prominent human rights defender, Narges Mohammadi has been arrested at the memorial service of Ebrahim Ketabdar who was killed during the November 2019 nationwide protests, according to his mother, Sakineh Ahmadi. Amir Moradi, Payam Jeyhouni and Mohsen Ghanavati were also arrested in Behbahan on November 14.

According to information obtained by Iran Human Rights, a memorial service held for the victims of the November 2019 protests which was attended by Narges Mohammadi and other civil activists was violently disrupted by security forces.

In videos shared online, Sakineh Ahmadi reports that prominent human rights defender, Narges Mohammadi was violently arrested at her son’s memorial service. She was arrested by “force and violence”, according to Ebrahim Ketabdar’s mother.

Narges Mohammadi is a human rights and anti-death penalty activist, journalist, former deputy director of the Defenders of Human Rights Centre (DHRC) and member of Legam, the ‘step by step to stop the death penalty’ campaign. She was last arrested on 5 May 2015 and served her sentences in Evin and Zanjan prisons before being released on 8 October 2020. In a new trumped-up case which was opened against her while she was still serving her previous sentence, she was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment, 80 lashes and two fines in May 2021. In an Instagram post in September, she said would not be complying with the sentence which was upheld and is enforceable.

According to HRANA news agency, Amin Moradi and Payam Jeyhouni were arrested in Behbahan on November 14 and transferred to a detention centre in Ahvaz.

Mohsen Ghanavati, the brother of Mohammad Hossein Ghanavati who was killed in the November 2019 protests, was arrested in Behbahan on November 14 and transferred to Behbahan Prison.

Prior to his arrest, Mohsen Ghanavati had reported that he had been summoned to Branch 3 of the Behbahan Public and Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office on November 10 for charges including “insulting the clergy, insulting revolutionary institutions such as the IRGC through his Instagram page, and reporting on the November 2019 riots and protests on his Instagram page.”

According to informed sources: “Ceremonies were due to be held for protesters killed at the November 2019 protests at sight of their graves but many of them have been summoned by phone over the last few days and they’ve been forced to sign pledges that they won’t participate the in the ceremonies and not to publicise the fact that they were even summoned.”

All detainees were arrested in the run-up to the anniversary of the November 2019 nationwide protests.