Pressure Mounts On Families Of Iranian Protest Victims

Families of the victims of the Iranian uprising continue to be detained by government agents as they attempt to grieve their loved ones.

On the anniversary of the death of Javad Heydari, who was killed last September by live ammunition, security forces arrested his brother and several other family members.

His sister, Fatemeh, reported that security forces also fired tear gas into their house as well as deploying troops to the village to quash any gatherings.

Heydari was killed in Qazvin on September 22 with live ammunition in a violent suppression of protests in the wake of Mahsa Amini's death in morality police custody. He was buried three days later in a nearby village.

Meanwhile, the ceremony to commemorate the death of Nika Shakarami, which had previously been announced by her sister, was canceled due to government pressure.

Nasrin Shakarami, Nika’s mother, wrote on her Instagram on Wednesday: "Due to the problems that have arisen, and of course, because I do not want any harm to come to the dear and honorable individuals who attend the ceremony, I am reluctantly canceling the ceremony."

Nika Shakarami took part in anti-regime protests last year and in images circulated from her, she can be seen setting fire to a headscarf and shouting slogans while standing on trash bins.

In her last call with her friend, she had said that security forces were looking for her on Keshavarz Boulevard in Tehran, and after that, she went missing.

Nika's body, which is said to have been subjected to torture, beatings, and sexual assault by security forces, was identified ten days later by her family.

After the news of the incident came out, government agents kidnapped her body and secretly buried it in a village in Lorestan.