One Year Since Mahsa Amini's Death: A Summary and Timeline of the Iranian Protests
Protestors gathering in support of the “Woman. Life. Freedom.” movement (Source: Flickr)
By Ellena Rivero
The death of Iranian 22 year old Mahsa Amini (مهسا امینی) on September 16, 2022 catapulted the state of Iran into a violent struggle against civil unrest. Protests began in Amini's hometown of Saqqez (سقز) and spread across the country, receiving affirming echoes worldwide from the Iranian diaspora and those in solidarity with the distraught Iranians. September 2023 marks one year of ongoing public dissent centered around women's rights, theocracy, and freedom—"Zan (women), Zenendegi (life), Azadi (freedom)," or زن، زندگی، آزادی.
The current regime came to power after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, which replaced a pro-Western, secular monarchy with an anti-Western, Islamic theocracy. Historically, Iran has suffered as an imperial object of interest to many Western countries, including Russia, Britain, and the United States. Many protestors are calling for a regime change. A law under particular worldwide scrutiny is Article 638 of Iran's Islamic Penal Code, which requires women to wear an Islamic hijab in public. This September, the parliament passed a bill to make this code and its punishment even stricter.
Also of interest, Western Iran houses between eight to ten million Kurds, per the United States Institute of Peace, who are a major stateless ethnic group in the Middle East. Kurdish separatist groups have been seeking independence since 1918 and play a large role in the past year’s protests. Amini was Kurdish, and the motto of this movement originated in the Kurdish language.
Timeline:
September 13: Amini is detained
September 16: Amini dies in police custody. Protests erupt.
September 17: Protests continue during Amini's funeral.
September 18: Demonstrations spread. Hundreds gather at the University of Tehran.
September 21: The government shuts down Internet access.
September 23: A leaked document, obtained by Amnesty International, has the Commander of the Armed Forces ordering security to "confront mercilessly, going as far as causing deaths, any unrest by rioters and anti-Revolutionaries."
September 24: Protestor Hadis Najafi (حدیث نجفی) appears in a video without her headscarf and later dies from six bullet wounds
September 30: The most violent night of the protests, named "Bloody Friday."
October 1: Worldwide protests are held in solidarity with Iran.
October 3: Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (علی حسینی خامنهای) releases his first statement since the widespread protests, claiming that the protests are a plot by foreign enemies.
November 13: Iranian courts process the first known death sentence related to the protests.
November 28: Iran declines the United Nations Rights Council's request for investigation.
December 8: The first public execution of a protestor takes place.
December 26: The 100th day of protests
February 5: Iran reduces sentences of 1,000 prisoners
March 6: Khamenei publicly addresses the mass poisoning of citizens.
April 8: The legal dress code is better enforced by the installation of security cameras in public places.
August 10: The Biden Administration agrees to exchange six billion in funds to Iran for the release of five American prisoners
September 12: The US House passes the MAHSA Act, which places sanctions on the leaders of Iran
September 16: The one year anniversary of Amini's death. The United Kingdom and the United States impose sanctions on Iran. Iranian forces surround the house of Amini's parents and detain her father. There are threats to not mark the anniversary of their daughter's death.
The total death toll of protestors, according to Iran Human Rights from September 15, 2023, is 522.