CNN
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Iranian security forces His family said on Friday he was arrested after a photo of him and another woman eating without a headscarf in a Tehran restaurant went viral online. On Wednesday, a photo emerged showing two women having breakfast at a cafe traditionally patronized by men, like most coffeehouses in Iran.
One of the women in the photo, Donya Rad, was arrested shortly after the photo was posted online. CNN spoke to her sister, who said security agencies contacted Donya and called her to explain her actions.
“After visiting the designated place, she was arrested, after a few hours of no news, Donya told me in a short phone call that she was transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison,” her older sister told CNN. Evin Prison in Tehran is a brutal facility specially designated for prisoners, where the regime imprisons political dissidents and is run by the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence.
CNN reached out to Iranian authorities about the alleged arrests.
In recent days, it has been reported that security forces detained a large number of influential Iranians, including writer and poet Mona Borzouei, Iranian football player Hossein Mahini, and Faezeh Rafsanjani, the daughter of former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Iranian singer Shervin Hajipour was also arrested this week after releasing a touching song based on Iranian tweets expressing their feelings about why people are protesting..
Hajipour’s song “For…” went viral, has millions of views, and has been widely shared among Iranians at home and abroad.
Thursday’s cover of the state-linked daily newspaper Hamshahri featured a headline “Celebrities Disturbed” with a picture of former football player Ali Karimi standing next to key Iranian actors and actresses who support the protests. The article says these are “one of the main reasons for recent popular protests.”
“We are not the ones causing the inconvenience. We are a trickle from the public,” Iranian actor Ehsan Karamy said in an Instagram post addressing the allegations made by the authorities. Go after the conservatives who are providing the wood piece by piece for this fire.”
After nearly two weeks of protests, government repression continued and clashes between security forces killed dozens. Iran Human Rights estimates that at least 83 people, including children, have been confirmed killed in protests following the death of Iranians. Mahsa Emin.
According to the state news agency IRNA, more than a thousand people linked to the protests have been detained as of last weekend. At least 28 journalists were arrested on Thursday, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Iranian women talk about hijab law and morality police
Amnesty International said on Thursday it was “investigating the authorities who collectively arrested protesters and spectators, journalists, political activists, lawyers and human rights defenders, including women’s rights activists and those belonging to oppressed ethnic minority groups.”
Despite the rising death toll and fierce crackdown by the authorities, videos circulating on social media show protesters calling for the overthrow of the religious order in the cities of Qom, Resht and Mashhad.
CNN cannot independently verify allegations of arrest or detention. It is impossible for anyone other than the Iranian government to verify the exact number of protesters arrested or detained. The figures vary according to opposition groups, international rights organizations and local journalists.
