Chirinne Ardakani, a France-based lawyer representing Mohammadi, said two Iranian lawyers and the activist’s sister visited her at Zanjan Prison on Sunday and found her in a weakened condition.

According to Ardakani, Mohammadi, 53, appeared pale, had lost significant weight and was being assisted by a nurse during the visit. Mohammadi told her lawyers that she had been unconscious for more than an hour on March 24 and was later informed by a prison doctor that she had likely suffered a heart attack.

She has since experienced recurring chest pain and breathing difficulties, Ardakani said, adding that Mohammadi described her condition as severe.The lawyer said authorities have denied requests to transfer Mohammadi to a hospital or allow her to see a cardiologist.

Direct communication with Mohammadi’s Iran-based lawyers was not immediately possible, as they do not speak to media. Ardakani said an internet blackout in Iran has further restricted information flow, noting that speaking to foreign media without authorization can lead to prison sentences.

A prison official was present during the visit, which was brief.Background and legal statusMohammadi, a rights lawyer, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while in prison.

She was arrested again in December in Mashhad and sentenced to an additional seven years in prison following a ruling by a Revolutionary Court.Prior to that, she had been serving a sentence of 13 years and nine months on charges related to national security and propaganda, though she had been released on medical furlough in late 2024.

Her husband, Taghi Rahmani, previously said her health had deteriorated following alleged physical abuse during her December arrest.

Mohammadi has a history of heart problems and has suffered multiple heart attacks in custody, undergoing emergency surgery in 2022, according to her supporters.

The Nobel Committee last month criticized what it described as life-threatening mistreatment of Mohammadi by Iranian authorities.

The death on Sept. 16 last year of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman arrested by the morality police for allegedly flouting mandatory dress codes, triggered months of some of the biggest protests against the Islamic Republic’s Shi’ite clerical rule ever seen and drew international condemnation.

On Saturday, Mahsa’s father, Amjad Amini, was arrested briefly and warned against marking the anniversary of his daughter’s death, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network said, and the family was not able to hold a planned vigil at her grave.

A social media video on Sunday showed protesters in the western city of Hamadan, clapping and shouting “Death to Islamic Republic”, while another video showed protesters running away after apparent shooting by security forces. Reuters could not immediately authenticate the videos.

Following the publication of the videos, the semi-official Tasnim agency carried a video appearing to show that the streets of Hamadan were calm.

Rights groups, including the activist HRANA news agency, reported that a number of people were arrested in the Kurdish cities of Saqez and Sanandaj. State media reported detentions of dozens of “terrorists” including an individual allegedly planning a suicide attack.

Meanwhile, authorities said unidentified gunmen in southern Iran on Saturday opened fire on the Basij paramilitary volunteer militia, which has played a prominent role in the crackdown, killing one and wounding three. It was not immediately clear if the incident was linked to the current unrest.

Iran’s intelligence minister warned that Iran may take unspecified action against overseas media which Tehran accuses of fomenting violent unrest in the country.

Iran International, a London-based television station critical of the Iranian government, in February said it was moving its live broadcasting studios to the United States following threats it faced in Britain.

“(Iran) International is a terrorist network, and we will take action wherever and whenever we recognise any terrorist act,” the semi-official news agency Fars quoted the minister, Esmail Khatib, as saying.

Amini ‘Inspired A Movement’

In the demonstrations that followed Amini’s death more than 500 people, including 71 minors, were killed, hundreds injured and thousands arrested, rights groups said. Iran carried out seven executions linked to the unrest.

U.S. President Joe Biden in a statement on Friday said Amini “inspired a historic movement … that has impacted Iran and influenced people across the globe.” Hundreds of Amini’s supporters rallied in front of the White House on Saturday.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected as “double standards and lies” Western expressions of support for women’s rights in Iran.

In a report last month, Amnesty International said Iranian authorities “have been subjecting victims’ families to arbitrary arrest and detention, imposing cruel restrictions on peaceful gatherings at grave sites, and destroying victims’ gravestones”.

Many journalists, lawyers, activists, students, academics, artists, public figures and members of ethnic minorities accused of links with the protest wave, as well as relatives of protesters killed in the unrest, have been arrested, summoned, threatened or fired from jobs in the past few weeks, according to Iranian and Western human rights groups.

Iran blames the unrest on its Western foes and rejects criticism of its legal system, saying it is based on a lack of understanding by rights groups of its Islamic laws.

Activists have accused authorities of a campaign to intimidate and instil fear, arresting, questioning, threatening or firing people connected to protests.

Iran’s rulers have intensified a clampdown on dissent one year since the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini sparked protests that spiralled into some of the worst political turmoil since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

How Did The Protests Start?

Protests began soon after the Sept. 16 death of Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, 22, who had been arrested by morality police three days earlier for allegedly violating Iran’s mandatory Islamic dress code.

Amini, described as a shy person who minded her own business and stayed clear of politics, was detained as she stepped out of a train station in Tehran.

News of her death circulated on social media. Protests erupted at her funeral in her hometown Saqez and then spread across the country with demonstrators chanting “Woman, life, freedom” in a furious challenge to Iran’s clerical rulers.

While Amini’s family said she had been killed by blows to her head and limbs, the authorities said she had died due to existing medical problems, further fuelling anger over her death.

What Did Protesters Want?

With women and young people often at the forefront, protesters targeted symbols of the Islamic Republic, burning pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and chanting “Death to the Dictator”.

Women, including schoolgirls, took off and burned headscarves, revolting against laws obliging women to cover their hair and wear loose-fitting clothes.

The protests were particularly intense in areas home to ethnic minorities that have long faced discrimination by the state, including Kurds in the northwest and Baluchis in the southeast.

Meanwhile, a growing number of women were disregarding the dress code. After a chess player and a climber competed without wearing headscarves other prominent women defied the authorities by violating the hijab law and voicing support for the protests.

Authorities have imposed travel bans and jail terms on several public figures from athletes to actresses.

Quelling The Protests

Security forces restricted access to messaging apps and fiercely confronted the leaderless protesters using tear gas, clubs and, in some cases, live ammunition, even as the protests rumbled on into the new year. A paramilitary volunteer militia, the Basij, played a prominent part in the crackdown.

Rights groups said over 500 people – including 71 minors – were killed, hundreds wounded and thousands arrested. Iran carried out seven executions linked to the unrest.

Authorities have not given any official estimated death toll, but said dozens of the security forces were killed in the “riots”.

Did Anything Change?

Buttressed by the Revolutionary Guards, the ruling elite appears to remain deeply entrenched in power despite its initial difficulties in subduing the protests.

Morality police largely vanished from the streets after Amini died in their custody. But as the protests fizzled they returned to streets and surveillance cameras were installed to identify and penalise unveiled women.

Authorities described the veil as “one of the principles of the Islamic Republic” and ordered both private and public sectors to deny services to any women who had discarded it, temporarily closing thousands of non-compliant businesses.

But with many Iranians saying the number of unveiled women continues to grow, the parliament is considering longer prison terms for anyone who flouts the dress code and harsher penalties for celebrities and businesses that violate the rules.

Outside Iran, Western countries imposed new sanctions on security forces and on dozens of Iranian officials over the protests, further straining already difficult ties.

How Will Iran’s Leaders Shore Up Their Position?

Recent actions by security forces suggested Iran’s rulers intended to brook no flicker of dissent as the anniversary of Amini’s death approached.

Activists have accused authorities of a campaign to intimidate and instil fear, arresting, questioning, threatening or firing people connected to protests.

Journalists, lawyers, activists, students, academics, artists, public figures and family members of killed protesters, especially among ethnic minorities, have been targeted in recent weeks.

Iranian officials have blamed the unrest on foreign foes, notably the U.S. and Israel, raising the stakes for anybody facing arrest.

However, in cracking down they risk widening a rift between the clerical leadership and ordinary Iranians increasingly dismayed by an economy hammered by sanctions and mismanagement, a potential source of future unrest.

“Security forces detained Amjad Amini today and returned him to his house after threatening him against marking his daughter’s death anniversary,” the Kurdistan Human Rights network said.

Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody a year ago unleashed months of anti-government protests that spiralled into the biggest show of opposition to the authorities in years.

Iranian officials were not immediately reachable by Reuters for comment.

It said female convicts on death row protesting the prison management set fire to the women’s ward at the Qarchak jail by burning their clothes.

It was unclear if the incident was linked to the general protests on the first anniversary death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

The Kurdistan Human Rights Network had said earlier that female inmates on Saturday held protests at the Qarchak prison on the anniversary of Amini’s death. It said special forces entered the ward, beat up the women and fired pellet bullets at some of the protesters.

A source close to the family confirmed a report by the Norway-based human rights group Hengaw that Amjad Amini was arrested as he was leaving his house in western Iran.

Mahsa Amini’s death in police custody a year ago unleashed months of anti-government protests that spiralled into the biggest show of opposition to the authorities in years.

Reuters could not confirm reports of Amjad Amini’s detention, while Iranian officials were not immediately reachable by Reuters for comment.

The Sept. 16 death of Amini, a 22-year-old Kurd arrested for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic’s mandatory dress code, sparked months of anti-government protests that spiralled into the biggest show of opposition to Iranian authorities in years.

Many, with women and young people often at the forefront, called for the end to more than four decades of Shi’ite clerical rule. Over 500 people including 71 minors were killed, hundreds injured and thousands arrested in the unrest that was eventually crushed by security forces, rights groups said.

“There’s a heavy presence of security forces in Saqez,” a right activist in Iran told Reuters, referring to Amini’s birthplace in the western province of Kurdistan. Another activist said a small gathering of protesters chanted anti-government slogans before quickly dispersing.

The two activists spoke on condition of anonymity, citing a fear of government reprisals amid an increasing clampdown on dissent as Amini’s death anniversary approached.

Social media posts spoke of security force deployments in several cities, mainly within Kurdistan. The reports could not be immediately verified.

In a statement, the Norway-based human rights group Hengaw said several Kurdish cities in western Iran “have experienced an atmosphere of intimidation and the declaration of a state of war in recent days”. It said numerous citizens had been detained.

Hengaw added that military personnel were positioned on top of Tapeh Qawkh, a hill overlooking Saqez, while residents had witnessed a surge in helicopter activity over the city.

Social media posts quoted Saqez residents as saying that authorities had installed new surveillance cameras around the city apparently to monitor and identify protesters.

Reuters could not verify any of these accounts.

Iranian authorities have accused the United States and Israel and their local agents of being behind the unrest to destabilise the country.

In a report last month, Amnesty International said Iranian authorities “have been subjecting victims’ families to arbitrary arrest and detention, imposing cruel restrictions on peaceful gatherings at grave sites, and destroying victims’ gravestones”.

Security forces detained Amini’s uncle Safa Aeli on Sept. 5, relatives told Reuters.

Many journalists, lawyers, activists, students, academics, artists, public figures and members of ethnic minorities accused of links with the protest wave, as well as relatives of protesters killed in the unrest, have been arrested, summoned, threatened or fired from jobs in the past few weeks, according to Iranian and Western human rights groups.

Iran’s Etemad daily reported in August that the lawyer for Amini’s family also faced charges of “propaganda against the system”. If convicted, Saleh Nikbakht faces a jail sentence between one and three years.

The sanctions target senior decision makers enforcing Iran’s mandatory hijab law and were coordinated with similar moves by the United States, Canada and Australia, Britain’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Those sanctioned include Iran’s minister for culture and Islamic guidance, his deputy, the mayor of Tehran and an Iranian police spokesman, it added.

“Today’s sanctions on those responsible for Iran’s oppressive laws send a clear message that the UK and our partners will continue to stand with Iranian women and call out the repression it is inflicting on its own people,” British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said.

The Sept. 16 death last year of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd arrested for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic’s mandatory dress code, sparked months of anti-government protests that spiralled into the biggest show of opposition to Iranian authorities in years.

Britain also sanctioned Arvan Cloud, an internet cloud service provider previously sanctioned by the U.S. and which it said was helping Iran’s government to censor the internet.

The sanctions impose a British travel ban on those named, block any of their British assets and prevent UK entities from doing business with them.

Abdollahian was expected to fly to India for the Raisina Dialogue scheduled on March 3 and 4. But, the Iranian government has told the conference’s organizers that the nation’s foreign minister is unable to go to India for the event.

Iran got upset with the promotional video of the Raisina Dialogue, which was published nearly a month ago. The video showed a brief shot of Iranian women cutting their hair in protest, placed next to the footage of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.

The 110-second movie depicts women cutting their hair in protest after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, was detained by Iran’s morality police for donning a “inappropriate” hijab.

The Iranian embassy, which was getting ready for Abdollahian’s visit to India, was disappointed by it. According to sources cited in a report by The Indian Express, the embassy complained to the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MEA) about the depiction of their President standing with the demonstrators. Additionally, they demanded that the segment be taken out of the promotional video.

India’s premier conference, the Raisina Dialogue, is run by ORF in collaboration with MEA.

The conference’s main themes are geopolitics and geoeconomics, which are committed to tackling the most difficult problems the world community is currently experiencing.

Heads of state, cabinet ministers, and representatives of local governments participate in the Dialogue as a multi-stakeholder, cross-sector conversation with thought leaders from the private sector, the media, and academia.

The G-20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting will take place on March 1 and 2. More than 20 foreign ministers are anticipated to attend. As the Raisina Dialogue is scheduled immediately following the meeting, it is anticipated that some ministers will stick around and attend the gathering.

One of the reasons the regime has decided to dissolve the morality police is that its practices have eaten away at the regime’s already dwindling popularity

Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, Tehran’s Public Prosecutor, announced the dissolution of the Iranian regime’s morality police on Sunday, an unexpected move that came after more than two months of popular protests. The device has come under fire after it killed Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman in police custody. Her death on September 16, 2022, sparked nationwide outrage, highlighting the role and practices of Iran’s morality police. Protests have been going on for two and a half months. Finally, the regime appears to yield to the protesters’ rage, deciding to disband the apparatus. However, several questions about the regime’s true intentions arise as a result of this move: Is this a strategic or tactical decision? Is the regime genuinely trying to reform its repressive apparatus? Or is it simply a tactical retreat to appease and calm down the enraged protesters on the streets and send a message that the regime’s course of repression is reversing? 

First, let’s look at the history and circumstances surrounding the establishment of the morality police as well as the powers vested in them. Morality police, in its current form, was established in 2005—more than two decades after establishing the other military apparatuses of the regime such as the IRGC and Basij (founded in May 1979 and April 1980 respectively). 

Thus, the morality police wasn’t the first repressive apparatus to be created by ayatollahs following their ascent to power in Iran. However, repression had started long ago. It’s almost as old as the revolution itself. In the early years after Iran’s Islamic revolution, the government imposed strict restrictions on men who wore bracelets and necklaces, unusual haircuts, Western-style shirts, or long hair. It also began to restrict women who wear bright clothing and apply make-up in public. Despite the restrictions in place at the time, they were not widespread or draconian. 

The morality police are thought to be made up of Basij members. It is a paramilitary unit that is extremely conservative. Its role changed depending on the president’s party affiliation. Women, for example, had enjoyed significant personal freedom under reformist president Mohammad Khatami since he reined in the apparatus’ excesses. This mood had shifted under his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a populist conservative leader who represented the polar opposite of his predecessor. Similarly, Ahmadinejad’s successor, reformist Hassan Rouhani, limited the power of the morality police. On December 30, 2017, Rouhani issued an order instructing morality police not to arrest or molest women who walk around public places without headscarves. He also barred the apparatus from bringing legal action against them.

The morality police are an unpopular security service in Iran. Iranians believe that morality police endanger women in the country and suffocate their freedom. It’s even despised by men who prefer unusual haircuts. Fear of the morality police drove the Iranians to develop “Gasht-e Ershad,” an application that helps them detect and avoid morality police patrols.

All of the Iranian regime’s security services and apparatuses, including the IRGC, Basij, regular police, army, and morality police, are repressive and use ruthless crackdowns on the people when popular protests grip the country from time to time. One of the reasons the regime has decided to dissolve the morality police is that its practices have eaten away at the regime’s already dwindling popularity. This apparatus directly interacts and clashes with the people, inciting anger and dissatisfaction. 

Thus, the regime has legitimate reasons to dissolve this apparatus, including 1) calming popular anger. 2) the morality police’s insignificant power in comparison to other repressive security apparatuses such as the IRGC and Basij 3) the close interaction between the morality police and the people, which causes anger to spread quickly among Iranians, further depriving the regime of its support base. Therefore, the regime disbanded the morality police to prevent its popularity from plummeting further. The regime believes that it is sufficient for the people to bear the economic consequences of its expansionist policies and the waste of state resources on extraterritorial misadventures. The morality police and economic hardships would be too much for the Iranians to bear. Additionally, the morality police, by killing Mahsa Amini, have exceeded all redlines. The apparatus isn’t authorized to kill. When a violator, of dress code or hijab, is arrested, he or she is transferred to a house of correction, where they receive some guidance and advice. The offenders are always released one day following their arrest. This didn’t happen with Mahsa Amini, who was unjustifiably detained and killed—apparently immorally at the hands of’ the ‘morality police’. 

Furthermore, the regime maintains its security apparatuses and services. More importantly, the dissolution of the morality police should not be overstated. It’s a wise step back by a pragmatic regime seeking survival amid domestic upheaval caused by economic woes. We would only consider a radical change if Iran’s ayatollahs decided to dissolve the IRGC or the Basij. Before this happens—which will never happen—all of the steps taken are merely tactical maneuvers to avoid downfall.

Mostapha Hassan Abdelwahab is the former editorial manager of the English edition of the Baghdad Post. He is focusing on Iraq, Iran and political Islam movements, with articles posted on the Herald Report, Vocal Europe, the Greater Middle East and other platforms.

Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not reflect Milli Chronicle’s point-of-view.