• Father of Iranian protester killed by police briefly detained on anniversary of her death.
• Iranian authorities crack down on commemorations and deploy security forces in Kurdish regions.
• Security forces deployed in Kurdish regions amid fears of protests.

On the first anniversary of his daughter Mahsa Amini’s death in Iranian police custody, her father, Amjad Amini, was briefly detained, according to human rights organizations.

He was warned against commemorating the anniversary before being released, as reported by the Kurdistan Human Rights Network. Iran’s official news agency, IRNA, denied that Amjad Amini was arrested but did not clarify if he was temporarily detained or warned.

Prior to this incident, social media and rights groups had reported security forces positioning themselves around Amini’s residence in Saqez, located in western Iran.

The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of morality police, accused of violating Iran’s mandatory dress code, had sparked widespread protests for months. These protests marked a significant display of opposition to the Iranian authorities and led many to call for an end to the decades-long rule of Shiite clerics.

Amini’s parents had announced their intention to hold a “traditional and religious anniversary ceremony” at their daughter’s grave despite government warnings, according to social media posts and reports.

In anticipation of potential unrest, a significant security force presence was deployed in Iran’s predominantly Kurdish regions. Reports also mentioned widespread strikes occurring in various cities within Iran’s Kurdistan region.

However, IRNA reported that Amini’s hometown, Saqez, remained “completely quiet” and that calls for strikes in Kurdish areas failed due to “people’s vigilance and the presence of security and military forces.”

It quoted an official in the Kurdistan province as saying: “A number of agents affiliated with counter-revolutionary groups who had planned to create chaos and prepare media fodder were arrested in the early hours of this morning.”

The protests following Mahsa Amini’s death resulted in over 500 casualties, including 71 minors, hundreds of injuries, and thousands of arrests, according to rights groups. Iran also carried out seven executions related to the unrest.

In a report last month, Amnesty International said Iranian authorities “have been subjecting victims’ families to arbitrary arrest and detention, imposing cruel restrictions on peaceful gatherings at grave sites, and destroying victims’ gravestones”.

Iranian and Western human rights organizations report that numerous journalists, lawyers, activists, students, academics, artists, public figures, members of ethnic minorities accused of links to the protest wave, as well as relatives of protesters killed in the unrest, have been detained, summoned, threatened, or fired from jobs over the past few weeks.

In August, the Iranian newspaper Etemad stated that the family’s attorney was also accused of “propaganda against the system.” If found guilty, Saleh Nikbakht could spend one to three years in jail.

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