For dead protest icon Amini
Iranian authorities confiscate Sakharov Prize
December 23, 2023, 7:39 p.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
She probably died from mistreatment by the moral police: The death of Jina Mahsa Amini sparked violent protests against the regime in Iran. Amini himself was posthumously honored with the Sakharov Prize this year. But the authorities are now collecting this.
Iranian security forces have confiscated the late Iranian Kurdish protest icon Jina Mahsa Amini’s Sakharov Prize, according to a human rights organization. After Declarations From the Norway-based organization Hengaw, Amini’s lawyer Mohammed Saleh-Nikbakht wanted to hand over the EU Parliament Prize in Iran to the family of the young Kurdish woman.
The lawyer was intercepted and interrogated by authorities after arriving at Tehran airport, it said. His passport, his cell phone and the award for Amini were confiscated. There is currently no official confirmation of Hengaw’s information.
Amini and the associated freedom movement “Woman, Life, Freedom” were awarded the Sakharov Prize in mid-December. However, the Iranian authorities prevented the family of the deceased from accepting the award.
Also Nobel Peace Prize for Iranian woman
Amini’s honor was announced back in October. The Iranian women’s movement was honored with it, said EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola at the time. The honor has been awarded by the EU Parliament since 1988 to personalities or organizations who work to defend human rights and freedom of expression. It is endowed with 50,000 euros.
Amini was arrested by the notorious morality police last fall for an alleged violation of the Islamic dress code. The 22-year-old then fell into a coma and died in police custody. According to her family, she died after being mistreated by the moral police, but the Iranian authorities deny this. Her death sparked the most violent protests in the Islamic Republic in decades. The power apparatus cracked down on the protests with great severity.
Also in October, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the imprisoned Iranian women’s rights activist Narges Mohammadi. The award was presented in December – her children accepted the award on Mohammadi’s behalf.