Iran has banned family members of a young Kurdish woman who died after being detained for improper use of a veil from traveling to receive the Sakharov Prize awarded to her posthumously, a lawyer said on Saturday.
Mahsa Amini’s parents and brother were “banned from boarding the flight that would have taken them to France for the Sakharov Prize ceremony,” said Shirinn Ardakani, the family’s lawyer in France.
Amini’s family members were not allowed to leave the country at midnight last night. [sexta-feira]”Despite having visas, their passports were confiscated,” he added, as 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, which has been subjected to bloody repression by Iranian authorities.
The Sakharov Prize is the European Union’s highest award in the field of human rights.
Mahsa Amini died on September 16, 2022, three days after she was detained by Iranian customs police for wearing an inappropriate veil.
The 22-year-old’s death sparked months of large-scale demonstrations against Iran’s political and religious leaders, whose crackdown has led to hundreds of deaths and thousands of arrests.
“The brutal murder of Mahsa Amini was a turning point,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said in announcing the award.
“The slogan ‘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 committed by the Iranian authorities, including the murder of Mahsa Amini, the 2023 Sakharov Prize winner.”
MEPs also called for the “immediate release of all victims of arbitrary detention and human rights defenders,” including Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, winner of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.
“Although the Nobel Prize is being held at the same time, Iranian authorities have never been so mobilized as to prevent the families of the victims from speaking to the international community,” said lawyer Shirinn Ardakani.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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