As Iran prepares to mark the first anniversary of the nationwide protests that began in September 2022, the regime is frantically trying to clamp down on any form of dissent and prevent protests from taking place.
Among the main efforts of the regime are actions against known sympathizers of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) and the relatives of PMOI members.
On Monday, August 21, regime authorities arrested Marzieh Farsi and Forough Taghipour, both being former political prisoners and relatives of PMOI members in Ashraf 3. They were both transferred to Evin prison and denied the right to contact their families.
Forough Taghipour, 29, was previously arrested in February 2020 along with her mother and was charged with “propaganda against the state” and “assembly and collusion” by supporting the PMOI. She was released in February 2023, mere months before being arrested again.
Marzieh Farsi, 58, was previously arrested in 2020 and was interrogated and tortured in Evin prison. She was released in February 2023 and rearrested in August.
In its escalating war on dissidents, especially PMOI supporters and family members of the Iranian opposition, Iran's regime has arrested Forough Taghipour and Marzieh Farsi.
Both are former political prisoners and relatives of PMOI members in Ashraf 3.
Forough (29) was first… pic.twitter.com/eEZUwQrvcz— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) August 23, 2023
These latest arrests come against a wave of repressive measures against PMOI supporters. Other political prisoners associated with the PMOI have been handed extended prison sentences and denied access to basic needs and medical services. The regime’s authorities have also reaffirmed the death sentence of political prisoner Mohammad Javad Vafa’i Thani on charges of supporting the PMOI.
At the same time, the regime’s judiciary has recently issued a summons to prosecute 104 MEK members. The regime, which has marked its history with the execution of tens of thousands of MEK members and supporters, has called for the Iranian Resistance members to present their lawyers to represent them in court.
These actions reflect the regime’s fear of the growing support for the PMOI, especially as it is reflected in the everyday activities of MEK Resistance Units, who are keeping the flame of rebellion and resistance alit in every corner of the country. Regime authorities have confessed to their fear of the growing influence of the Iranian Resistance and are warning that the PMOI is their main problem today.
In parallel with the actions against the Iranian Resistance, the regime has ratcheted up executions in its prisons. According to a statement by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the regime executed 10 people on Monday in the prisons of Zahedan, Ahvaz, Qazvin, Kerman, and Kahnouj.
On August 2, the National Council of Resistance of Iran reported 14 executions in Iran in three days, including nine in Sistan and Baluchestan provinces. And on July 19, the NCRI had warned of at least 400 executions in Iran in 2023.
The regime’s growing violence in its prisons is accompanied by other repressive measures, including the redeployment of the morality police to suppress women in the streets and a wave of summons and punishments against students who had been active in the 2022 protests.
However, the regime’s efforts remain futile. MEK Resistance Units continue to expand their activities every day, defying the regime’s repressive tactics.