A police motorcycle and a trash bin are burning during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini. Photo / Supplied by AP
Iranian-born Hollywood actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi has delivered a powerful message about what Iranians are really fighting for as security forces crack down on protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.
Amini, 22, died in September after being arrested by the notorious morality police for "unsuitable attire" in Iran. Witnesses claimed she was brutally beaten by authorities who detained her for failing to comply with strict rules on head coverings.
But according to Boniadi, 43, the protests – which have spiralled into the biggest show of opposition to Iran's leadership since 2019 – aren't just about the "compulsory hijab" and the "morality police".
In a video posted to her social media accounts, the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star said Iranians are also fighting against gender apartheid, forced confessions, no due process, unfair trials, extrajudicial killings, no free expression, torture, child marriage, government corruption, and the funding of terror.
"And mainly they're fighting theocracy," she said.
Iranians aren’t just fighting compulsory hijab, they’re fighting:
— Nazanin Boniadi (@NazaninBoniadi) October 9, 2022
• Gender apartheid
• Forced confessions
• No due process
• Unfair trials
• Extrajudicial killings
• No free expression
• Torture
• child marriage
• Government corruption
• Funding of terror
• Theocracy
In Iran, anyone who expresses dissent at the ruling theocratic system, including the rich and famous, risks being caught in the dragnet of a crackdown that has seen thousands arrested, hundreds injured, and over 100 killed in more than three weeks of protests, according to rights groups.
Activists say that when the unrest erupted last month over the death of Amini, the authorities initially resorted to lethal force, killing dozens in the space of days.
But, as well as keeping up the threat of force, authorities are increasingly resorting to arrests, with a particular focus on those who promote videos of protests or anti-regime messages on social media.
"They have gone for all for them – cultural activists, women's rights activists and journalists. Anyone who could transmit information to the outside world or to the internal networks," said Roya Boroumand, director of the Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center.
"There have been mass arrests," she added.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI), a New York-based non-government group, said that according to its count at least 1200 people have been arrested, including at least 92 members of civil society who were detained not at street protests but arbitrarily at their homes or work.
Boniadi, who is also an Amnesty International ambassador, told Reuters that world leaders to do more to hold Iranian authorities accountable.
"I think the death or the killing of Mahsa Amini in custody in Iran has struck at the core of everything we feel about our rights being taken away from us, how fragile our freedoms can be," she said.
"So it's hit a chord … in the global zeitgeist of people feeling like they can relate to what it feels like to have your rights taken away from you. And particularly, I think, women's rights."
Iranian authorities have insisted that Amini died from sudden heart failure, possibly from pre-existing conditions. Her family has denied she had any previous health issues.
Boniadi, who fled Tehran with her family when she was just 20 days old, has been a prominent voice in the anti-regime campaign since Amini's death.
On Saturday, Boniadi led a protest in Los Angeles against the Iranian government, with organisers saying 20,000 people turned up to show their support.
"Here you have these women who are on the front lines, and they are likely to get beaten at the very least, if not killed and imprisoned. And yet they're doing it anyway," Boniadi said.
"They're fighting with all they have. The problem is that we need to stand by them … Every country, every member state of the UN needs to actively work towards creating this international mechanism for accountability on Iran."
Incredible scenes. Riot police uniting with protestors against the regime. #IranRevolution
— David Patrikarakos (@dpatrikarakos) October 9, 2022
pic.twitter.com/0NpbeoAILC
There have been similar protests across Europe and in Canada, in solidarity with the women making a stand in Tehran and elsewhere in Iran.
On Monday, the UK slapped sanctions on Iran's "morality police" after the death in custody of a woman arrested for not wearing a headscarf.
London said its new restrictions covered "the morality police in its entirety", including its chief Mohammad Rostami Cheshmeh Gachi.
The head of the Tehran division, Haj Ahmed Mirzaei, is also on the list, the government said. Both were sanctioned by the United States last month.
Canada last week said it will permanently deny entry to more than 10,000 members of the Iranian regime, while the EU said it was weighing measures.
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the sanctions mean no one on the list can travel to the UK and their assets in the country will be frozen.
"The UK stands with the people of Iran who are bravely calling for accountability from their government and for their fundamental human rights to be respected," he said in a statement.
"These sanctions send a clear message to the Iranian authorities - we will hold you to account for your repression of women and girls and for the shocking violence you have inflicted on your own people."
The UK also followed Washington in sanctioning five leading political and security officials in Iran for their role in the violent crackdown as well as during fuel-related protests in Iran in 2019.
An international panel of lawyers sitting in London last month ruled that Iran's government committed "crimes against humanity" in their suppression of the 2019 protests.
The tribunal said expert evidence suggested as many as 1500 people were killed.