DUBAI: An outspoken Iranian lawyer who has publicly criticized how the government handled the 2022 protests has been arrested, state media reported Sunday.
The unrest at the time followed the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who was detained by the police for allegedly not properly wearing her mandatory hijab. Her death triggered massive protests that quickly escalated into calls to overthrow Iran’s four-decade-old Islamic theocracy.
The judiciary’s Mizan news agency said Sunday that Mohsen Borhani had been previously sentenced but did not give further details on his case or jail time issued.
Borhani, also a university professor, became popular on social media for his critical views of the Iranian government during the 2022 demonstrations that shook the Islamic Republic and sparked a security crackdown that killed more than 500 people and saw over 22,000 detained. UN investigators said Iran is responsible for the physical violence that led to her death,
The arrest came a day after reformist president Masoud Pezeshkian was elected to lead the country.
Pezeshkian promised to ease enforcement of the country’s mandatory headscarf law and reach out to the West after years of sanctions and protests squeezing the Islamic Republic.
Iran detains outspoken lawyer who criticized 2022 crackdown following Mahsa Amini’s death
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Iran detains outspoken lawyer who criticized 2022 crackdown following Mahsa Amini’s death
Hamas says will give up arms to a Palestinian authority ‘if occupation ends’
- “We accept the deployment of UN forces as a separation force, tasked with monitoring the borders and ensuring compliance with the ceasefire in Gaza,” Hayya says
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Hamas said Saturday it was ready to hand over its weapons in the Gaza Strip to a Palestinian authority governing the territory on the condition that the Israeli army’s occupation ends.
“Our weapons are linked to the existence of the occupation and the aggression,” Hamas chief negotiator and its Gaza chief Khalil Al-Hayya said in a statement, adding: “If the occupation ends, these weapons will be placed under the authority of the state.” Asked by AFP, Hayya’s bureau said he was referring to a sovereign and independent Palestnian state.
“We accept the deployment of UN forces as a separation force, tasked with monitoring the borders and ensuring compliance with the ceasefire in Gaza,” Hayya added, signalling his group’s rejection of the deployment of an international force in the Strip whose mission would be to disarm it.
