Dubai: Niloufar Hamidi, an Iranian journalist specializing in women’s rights, shied away from hard stories for years — until she photographed Mahsa Amini’s parents embracing each other in a Tehran hospital where their daughter lay in a coma. was
The photo, which Hamidi posted on Twitter on September 16, was the first sign to the world that all was not well with Amini, 22, who was detained three days earlier by Iran’s morality police for inappropriate clothing. .
Amini’s death later that day would spark a wave of mass protests across Iran, which continue nearly three weeks later in various parts of the country despite a government crackdown.
A picture of Amini’s parents was also one of the last things Hamidi, who worked for the pro-reform daily Shariq, posted before she was arrested days later and her Twitter account was suspended.
Hamidi’s lawyer, Mohammad Ali Kamferozi, tweeted on September 22, “This morning, intelligence agents raided the home of my client Nilufar Hamidi, arrested him, searched his home, and confiscated his belongings. “
He wrote that Hamidi has not been charged and is being held in solitary confinement in Iran’s Avon prison.
Facing one of the biggest challenges to the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution, authorities have used force to suppress the biggest public show of dissent in years.
At least 185 people, including 19 minors, have been killed, hundreds injured and thousands arrested by security forces, according to rights groups. The Iranian government says more than 20 security personnel have been killed and it will investigate the civilian deaths.
Passionate about women’s rights
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called on the Iranian authorities to “immediately and unconditionally release … all journalists covering the death of Mahi Amini and the protests that followed.” to be arrested because of”.
It said last month that at least 28 journalists had been detained by security forces, including Hamidi.
Hamidi’s friends described her as a brave journalist who is passionate about women’s issues and rights. Her investigative articles cover topics such as self-immolation among female victims of domestic violence, and she interviewed the family of Sepida Rashno, an Iranian writer and artist who was arrested in July for violating the Islamic dress code. was
“She always went above and beyond to become a voice for voiceless women who were denied their rights, whether because of their fathers, husbands or social boundaries,” a friend of hers told, fearing reprisals.
Iranian officials have blamed the violence on an array of enemies, including armed Iranian Kurdish rebels whose Revolutionary Guards have repeatedly attacked their bases in neighboring Iraq during the latest unrest.
“We hope Hamidi returns to the office. Put her bag on the table…write about the marginalized and anonymous women who are victims of prejudice in Iran,” wrote her editor Shahrazad Hamti on October 11.
