Iran Protests: Violent Arrest of a Young Woman in Yasuj

On Thursday, September 29, HRANA news agency reported the arrest of a young woman named Sheida Saberi in the city of Yasuj.

According to reports, Saberi stood in Yasuj city’s Haft-e Tir Square in traditional dress, holding a placard in one hand while she cut off her hair in protest. Iranian security forces acted quickly, with officers using force to arrest Saberi while civilians looked on.

Two weeks have passed since a new wave of protests broke out in Iran, with Iranian citizens taking to the streets, first in Kurdistan province and then in other cities across the country.

These protests, sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who had been detained for “improper hijab” by Iran’s so-called morality police, have led to violent attempts at suppression by armed agents of the regime.

During this latest wave of protests, dozens of people have been killed and hundreds more have been arrested and transferred to unknown locations. While it is not known exactly how many arrests there have been, the Iran Human Rights Organization reported that 83 people have been killed as of September 29.

The organization also suggested that the actual number of victims is likely to be higher but, due to severely disrupted internet access, they have been unable to receive or verify some reports.

According to IranWire, on Friday, September 30, special forces attempted to arrest several student activists in the city of Yazd. Reports state that three individuals named Sina Mir, Amin Rashidi and Yasin Mousavi have now been arrested and transferred to an unknown location.

Across Iran, many other protestors have been arrested, including theatre director Amirhossein Brimani, teacher Afsaneh Rabiei, and students Ali Moslemi and Amirhossein Ghorbanzadeh.

Amnesty International announced on Friday, September 30, that it had seen an official order from the General Staff of the Armed Forces demanding that officers “fight hard” against protesters.

In an accompanying statement, Amnesty International said: "With the disclosure of this order, it is clear why there has been an intensification in the use of firearms against protesters across the country, which has led to the deaths of dozens of people on September 30 alone.”

“According to international law, deaths caused by the illegal use of firearms are not considered accidental, but intentional, and are regarded as extrajudicial executions,” Amnesty said.