The family of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman killed by Tehran "morality police" last year, was recently banned from exiting Iran, a European Parliament member and Radio Farda reported on Saturday.
According to the report, Amjad Amini, Mahsa's father, along with Amini's mother and brother were on their way to the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought award ceremony after it was announced that the award was being presented to Amini and the Woman, Life, Freedom Movement in Iran.
The ceremony is set to take place on Tuesday.
Amjad told Radio Farda that he had reported the trip to local officials but when he and his family arrived at Khomeini Airport in Tehran, their passports were confiscated. He went with his lawyer to the Tehran prosecutor's office where he was told that his family was banned from departing Iran at the request of the Intelligence Ministry.
"Of course, we know that our only crime is that we are the family of Jina Mahsa Amini," wrote Amjad to Radio Farda. "We wanted to travel there just to receive the [award], and we had even bought our return ticket, and there was no other intention, but they stopped this trip illegally."
'Regime afraid of its own citizens'
"This regime is afraid of its own citizens," wrote European Parliament Member Hannah Neumann on X, noting that the Amini family was stopped at the Tehran airport.
This regime is afraid of its own citizens. Tonight at Tehran airport #Iran Sakharov Prize laureate #JinaMahsaAmini|s mother, father, and brother were stopped from leaving the country.(1/2) pic.twitter.com/ayavWhsRbU
— Hannah Neumann (@HNeumannMEP) December 9, 2023
"It was foreseen that Jina's mother would deliver the Sakharov Prize acceptance speech on Tuesday, 12 December," added Neumann.
A lawyer representing the Amini family, Saleh Nikbakht, managed to get on the flight and is expected to represent the family at the award ceremony in Strasbourg.
Since 1988, the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought has been awarded by the European Parliament to honor individuals and organizations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. The prize is named in honor of Soviet physicist and political dissident Andrei Sakharov.
ʺOn 16 September we marked one year since the murder of Jina Mahsa Amini in Iran," said European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.
"The European Parliament proudly stands with the brave and defiant who continue to fight for equality, dignity and freedom in Iran," she said. "We stand with those who, even from prison, continue to keep Women, Life and Freedom alive. By choosing them as laureates for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought 2023, this House remembers their struggle and continues to honor all those who have paid the ultimate price for liberty.ʺ
Amini was arrested by "morality police" officers in Tehran in mid-September last year for allegedly incorrectly wearing her hijab, with her family saying that she was beaten by the officers in the van that brought her to the police station.
At the police station, she collapsed and was brought to the hospital where she later died. Her relatives have told foreign media that they were kept largely in the dark about the situation.
Amini’s death sparked intensive nationwide protests, commonly referred to as the “Woman, Life, Liberty” (“Jin, Jiyan, Azadî” in Kurdish) protests, last September, which continued in full strength for months on end.
In May, glass around Amini's gravestone was shattered by vandals. her brother, Ashkan Amini, published a photo of the shattered glass on his Instagram story, writing "the glass of your tombstone also bothers them" and "break it a thousand times. We will fix it again. Let's see who gets tired."
The protests drew the world’s attention, with videos showing demonstrators openly clashing with Iranian security forces in an unprecedented way. In a number of videos shared online, armed security forces could be seen fleeing as masses of protesters confronted their attempts to suppress the demonstrations.
In August, the commander-in-chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Hossein Salami, called the protests “the strongest, most dangerous, and most serious” such demonstrations in the regime’s history.
Safa Aeli, Amini's uncle, was arrested a little over a week before the anniversary of Amini's death this September.