Woman Who Posted Photo at Restaurant Without Wearing Hijab Goes Missing After Imprisonment

Iran Authorities Summon Immediately After Posting Photos on SNS
Recent Arrests of Writers, Athletes, and Singers Continue

[Image source = Instagram of the arrested Iranian woman]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] In Iran, where anti-government protests continue following the suspicious death of a woman not wearing a hijab, a new incident has occurred in which a woman was arrested over a single photo posted on social media (SNS).

According to the US CNN broadcast on the 30th of last month (local time), a woman named Donya Rad was arrested immediately after posting a photo on SNS showing her and another woman having breakfast at a restaurant in Tehran without wearing hijabs.

CNN reported that security agencies summoned the woman to investigate the circumstances of the incident.

Donya’s younger sister said, "After her arrest, there was no news for several hours, then during a brief phone call, she said she had been transferred to Ward 209 of Evin Prison," after which contact was lost again. Evin Prison in Tehran is operated by the Iranian Intelligence Ministry and is notorious for detaining dissidents and subjecting them to inhumane treatment.

In recent days, Iranian authorities have reportedly detained several influential Iranian celebrities, including writer and poet Mona Boroujerdi, football player Hossein Mahini, and Paezeh Rafsanjani, daughter of former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.

In Iran, where anti-government protests are spreading due to the suspicious death of a woman not wearing a hijab, a woman was arrested for a single photo taken without wearing a hijab. The photo shows a clash between protesters and police during a demonstration condemning the suspicious death held in Tehran on the 21st of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, according to an Iranian human rights organization, singer Sherwin Hajipour was arrested this week after creating and releasing a heartbreaking song based on tweets from Iranians expressing their feelings about participating in the anti-government protests. Hajipour’s song "For..." went viral online, garnering millions of views and being widely shared both inside and outside Iran.

The anti-government protests, triggered by the sudden death of Mahsa Amini, a woman in her twenties who was arrested by police for not wearing a hijab last month, have continued for over two weeks. According to the state-run IRNA news agency, over 1,000 people have been detained in connection with the protests as of last weekend, and as of the 29th of last month, 28 journalists had been arrested.

In this regard, Amnesty International stated on the 29th of last month, "Iranian authorities are conducting widespread arrests of journalists, lawyers, human rights activists, including women’s rights activists and ethnic minorities, and investigations are underway regarding these actions."