Daughter of former Iranian president Rafsanjani arrested in protests

Faezeh Hashemi, the daughter of former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has been arrested in Tehran by security forces for ‘inciting riots’ that were triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while on police custody for un-Islamic dress.

According to a report by the Tasnim news agency on Wednesday (Sep 28), Hashemi was "arrested" by the security service for supporting women's protests in the capital Tehran.

She had tried to motivate women to participate in the protests, according to Tasnim. This is currently considered a criminal offence in Iran.

Before her arrest, Hashemi had said that the Iranian government has been referring to the protests for the past days as ‘riots’ and ‘sedition’ to suppress them, was used as the basis for her detention, news website Radio Farda reported.

Hashemi, 59, has been one of the critics of the Islamic system for years. The former member of parliament and women's sports official is therefore also on a blacklist and has also been arrested several times.

As a women's activist, Hashemi has always been against the compulsory headscarf, although she wears one herself. She was also the editor of the daily newspaper San (Woman), which, however, had to close down in 1999 because of its feminist views.

Amini, who is Kurdish, was visiting Tehran with her family to visit relatives when she was accosted by the notorious morality police for allegedly breaching Iran’s strict dress code – including wearing of the hijab or head covering – and eventually arrested.

Mahsa Amini died of ‘blow to the head’: Family says

Her relatives claimed the beatings Amini received from the morality police, including a violent blow to the head that caused her death.

“What [authorities] want to convey is that these are not protests, they’re riots, but in fact they are protests,” Radio Farda quoted Hashemi in an audio recording it obtained.

“Those who have seen the protests know that, for example, if the youth set fire to garbage cans, it’s because the [security forces] have used tear gas and they want to neutralize it; or when they beat a member of the security forces it’s because they have been attacked and they’re defending themselves,” she said.

Woman in Italy cuts hair off in protest over Mahsa Amini’s death after hijab arrest

Meanwhile, hundreds of academics issued an open letter urging feminist communities to join them in building transnational solidarity with women and marginalized groups in Iran.

The letter was signed by academics including those from universities in Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia who said that the death of Amini was ‘among many other state murders committed systemically and purposefully by the gender-apartheid regime of Iran.’

“This country-wide revolt is against not only the brutal murder of Mahsa but also the essence of the Islamic regime,” the letter said.

“The demand is loud and clear: an end to a theocratic regime whose multi-faceted violence against marginalized bodies is manifested in Mahsa’s death.”

Mahsa Amini's death: The systematic killing of Kurds by the Iranian regime

Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi has described the anti-government protests as a conspiracy against the country's political leadership.

The president told a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday (Sep 28): "These are conspiracies by the enemies against Iran's leadership because they feel threatened by the dominance, influence and progress of the system."

The country's new generation should be educated about this dominance and - instead of protesting - be proud of these achievements, Raisi said, according to the presidential office's web portal.

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