Two years after her daughter's death, Iranian authorities remain silent

Two years after Mahsa Amini's death in the custody of the Iranian morality police, the Islamic Republic's judiciary has still not responded to the family's inquiries about the case, according to her father.

“Although two years have passed since my daughter's tragic death and despite persistent inquiries and numerous visits by lawyers to the prosecutor's office, our family has still not received an answer about Mahsa's case,” Amjad Amini told Voice of America's Persian service on Thursday.

Saleh Nikbakht, the family's lawyer, had previously stated that Mahsa Amini's case “remains pending before the public prosecutor's office. The requested investigations have yet to be carried out and no legal proceedings have been initiated so far.”

In an audio message to Voice of America, Amjad Amini said he would hold a memorial ceremony if the government allowed it.

He said that if the Islamic Republic does not impose the same restrictions as last year, the memorial ceremony for his daughter will take place on Sunday “in response to the public's demands and requests.”

Mahsa (Jina) Amini died on September 16, 2022, just days after her arrest by the morality police at Kasra Hospital in Tehran. Amini was initially arrested for allegedly violating Iranian law requiring women to wear a hijab.

Her death sparked major protests throughout Iran, with demonstrations lasting months on the streets, at universities and schools.

The government's crackdown on nationwide protests in 2022 left hundreds of citizens dead and thousands more injured or arrested.

In the run-up to the second anniversary of Amini's death and the start of the subsequent nationwide protests, the Islamic Republic authorities not only increased pressure on grieving families, civil rights activists and political activists, but also arrested numerous citizens in various cities across Iran.

Aida Shakarami, the sister of Nika Shakarami, a 16-year-old killed during the 2022 nationwide protests, recently said that “the scale of the crimes committed by the Islamic Republic during the 2022 protests is far greater than previously known.”

As the second anniversary of the nationwide protests approaches in 2022, several student organizations and students in Iran have issued a statement reaffirming their stance against “this inhuman regime” and vowing to “constantly challenge” and “overthrow” it.

In their statement, the students said: “We do not forgive or forget, we do not express regret or fear, nor will we back down. Sooner or later, the Islamic Republic will be destroyed by the revolutionary movement that flows through the veins of society.”