Iran has prohibited the relatives of the young Kurdish woman who died after being detained for misusing her veil from traveling to receive the Sakharov Prize that was awarded to her posthumously, a lawyer announced this Saturday.
Mahsa Amini’s parents and brother were “prohibited from boarding the flight that would take them to France for the Sakharov Prize ceremony,” said Chirinne Ardakani, the family’s lawyer in France.
Amini’s relatives were prevented from leaving the country at midnight last night. [sexta-feira]”Despite having visas, their passports were confiscated,” he added, quoted by the French agency AFP.
In October, the European Parliament awarded the Sakharov Prize to Mahsa Amini and the “Women, Life and Freedom” movement, bloodily repressed by the Iranian authorities.
The Sakharov Prize is the highest honor awarded by the European Union in the field of human rights.
Mahsa Amini died on September 16, 2022, three days after being detained by Iranian customs police for wearing an ill-fitting veil.
The 22-year-old’s death sparked months of large-scale protests against Iran’s political and religious leaders, whose crackdown led to hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests.
“The brutal murder of Mahsa Amini marked a turning point,” said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola when announcing the award.
“The motto ‘Women, life, freedom’ has become a rallying cry for all those who defend equality, dignity and freedom in Iran,” he added.
On November 23, the European Parliament condemned the “brutal murders of women by the Iranian authorities, including that of Mahsa Amini, winner of the 2023 Sakharov Prize.”
The MEPs also called for the “immediate release of all victims of arbitrary detentions and human rights defenders”, including Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner.
“While celebrating the Nobel Prize at the same time, Iranian authorities have never moved more to prevent the victims’ families from speaking to the international community,” said lawyer Chirinne Ardakani.
Source: TSF
