World

Iran threatens crackdown on anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death – but some refuse to be silenced

Published

2 years ago

September 15, 2023

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“They killed my brother, and now they’re coming for us too.”

These are words from inside Iran that its rulers do not want the world to hear.

Warning: This article contains a graphic image of injury

“They’re taking us hostage,” Reza said. Sky News is not using Reza’s real name to protect his safety.

Reza’s brother was brutally killed during the protests last year. Armed police forced the grieving family to bury his body the same night he died – in an effort to cover up their crimes, he said.

Reza, who is in his late 20s, and his family have been the target of a campaign of harassment and threats by the authorities ever since.

He risks imprisonment, torture and death to speak to Sky News. But despite the government’s efforts, Reza is adamant he won’t be silenced.

And he’s not alone.

Reza is speaking from a small room in Turkey where exiled Iranian activist Shilan Mirzai works in hiding.

She supports victims of the country’s brutal crackdown on protests, which looks set to intensify as the anniversary of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini‘s death in police custody approaches.

“The harder they’re pushing, the harder people fight back,” said Ms Mirzai.

Ms Amini’s death last September in the custody of Iran‘s notorious morality police sparked an unprecedented uprising against the regime, which threatened the very existence of the Islamic Republic.

The response of the cleric-led government was brutal and bloody with more than 500 people killed, including 70 children.

Almost a year later, the protests appear to have subsided but the government crackdown continues.

In the past month, Ms Mirzai has seen a sharp rise in the number of the families of those who were imprisoned or killed during the protests reporting threats, harassment and arrests.

Ahead of Saturday’s anniversary, human rights campaigners, activists and academics have reportedly been arrested – including Ms Amini’s uncle and lawyer, and the young journalist who broke the story of her death.

“Iran’s government is clearly anxious,” Ms Mirzai said. “They know that people are preparing to reignite the protests.”

But the widespread crackdown on protesters by authorities isn’t just limited to Iran.

Activist Shilan Mirrzaee, who lives in Turkey, is regularly threatened and harassed.

“They’re trying to silence me,” she said. She rarely leaves her house and even stopped her son going to school for three months out of fear something might happen to him.

Her family in Iran aren’t safe either. Shilan said they’re being taken “hostage”.

In the past year, her father has been arrested six times for her activism. Her brother and sister have also been arrested. Her sister was threatened with rape.

But her family has encouraged her not to stop being an activist.

“We can’t speak out ourselves,” her father said, “but you can be our voice”.

“I’m not scared of the Islamic Republic government. Even if they kill my father, I will keep on fighting,” she said.

“We don’t want the Islamic Republic. Dictatorship must end.”

While many protesters prepare to take to the streets once again, others are left grappling with life-changing injuries from last year. Others look on from afar after escaping Iran in search of safety and medical treatment.

Behzad Hamrahi, 44, and his family were forced to seek asylum in Turkey several months ago.

“The guards held my arms behind me,” the father-of-two said. “Another stood less than a metre away, pointing a gun directly at my face. Then everything went black.”

Mr Hamrahi thought he had died. A guard had shot him in his left eye with a paintball gun that contained a dense ball of pressurised plastic.

He lost his eye – one of 600 people to be injured in this way according to doctors in just two provinces. The actual numbers across Iran are likely to be much higher.

Mr Hamrahi was beaten by the guards but before they could take him away, several other protesters carried him to a nearby apartment block and helped him hide.

One of the protesters, a nurse, helped clean the wound. But Mr Hamrahi desperately needed urgent medical care.

“I knew [getting medical treatment] would lead to my arrest,” he said. But he decided to go to a hospital the next day “regardless of the consequences”.

Most clinics and hospitals refused him as it was clear he sustained his injury in the protests.

Mr Hamrahi ended up having his left eye removed in a hospital that he had reasons to believe collaborate with authorities.

Shortly after he was discharged, he was held in prison for a week where he was tortured.

“That’s when I decided that I must leave the country immediately,” he said.

He arrived in Turkey a few days later with his wife and young children.

Mr Hamrahi, now living in a modest apartment in the country, said he doesn’t regret his involvement in the protests “because I fought for a free and prosperous Iran”.

But not everyone feels the same. Reza tells me that the stress and suffering his family has been through since his brother was killed is unbearable.

“The harassment towards our family has been non-stop from day one and it’s only getting worse,” he said.

He promised his family he would not take part in any future protests. “They can’t bear to lose another son,” he said.

World

Pope Leo urges Donald Trump not to try to oust Venezuelan president by force

Published

4 hours ago

December 2, 2025

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Pope Leo urges Donald Trump not to try to oust Venezuelan president by force

The Pope has urged Donald Trump not to try to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro using military force.

Leo, the first American pontiff, said it would be better to attempt dialogue or impose economic pressure on Venezuela if Washington wants to pursue change there.

The Trump administration has been weighing options to combat what it has portrayed as Mr Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans.

The socialist Venezuelan president has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.

Asked during a news conference about President Trump’s threats to remove Mr Maduro by force, the Pope said: “It is better to search for ways of dialogue, or perhaps pressure, including economic pressure.”

He added that Washington should search for other ways to achieve change “if that is what they want to do in the United States”.

The Pope was speaking as he flew home from a visit to Turkey and Lebanon – his first overseas trip in the role.

Mr Maduro has said Venezuelans are ready to defend their country as the US considers a land attack.

The president held a rally in Caracas amid heightened tensions with Mr Trump’s administration, which has been targeting what it says are boats carrying drug smugglers.

Mr Trump met his national security team on Monday evening, having warned last week that land strikes would start “very soon”.

It’s not been confirmed what was discussed at the meeting, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: “There’s many options at the president’s disposal that are on the table – and I’ll let him speak on those.”

US forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats it claims were carrying narcotics to its shores over the last few months.

Mr Maduro – widely considered a dictator by the West – said on Monday that Venezuelans are ready “to defend [the country] and lead it to the path of peace”.

“We have lived through 22 weeks of aggression that can only be described as psychological terrorism,” he said.

Venezuela has said the boat attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder – and that Mr Trump’s true motivation is to oust Mr Maduro and access its oil.

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World

Maduro says Venezuela ready to defend itself as US considers potential land attack

Published

4 hours ago

December 2, 2025

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Maduro says Venezuela ready to defend itself as US considers potential land attack

Nicolas Maduro has said Venezuelans are ready to defend their country as the US considers a land attack.

The president held a rally in Caracas amid heightened tensions with Donald Trump’s administration, which has been targeting what it says are boats carrying drug smugglers.

Mr Trump met his national security team on Monday evening, having warned last week that land strikes would start “very soon”.

US forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats it claims were carrying narcotics to its shores over the last few months, and the White House has accused Mr Maduro of being involved in the drugs trade – a claim he denies.

‘Psychological terrorism’

Mr Maduro – widely considered a dictator by the West – said on Monday that Venezuelans are ready “to defend [the country] and lead it to the path of peace”.

“We have lived through 22 weeks of aggression that can only be described as psychological terrorism,” he said.

Venezuela has said the boat attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder – and that Mr Trump’s true motivation is to oust Mr Maduro and access its oil.

Concerns have been raised over the legality of the US attacks, which the Pentagon has sought to justify by designating the gangs as foreign terror organisations.

Controversy over US strikes

Tensions remain high over America’s large deployment in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific, which includes its flagship aircraft carrier and thousands of troops.

The US has released videos of boats being blown up but has not provided evidence – such as photos of drugs – to support the smuggling claims.

Controversy also surrounds the first incident, on 2 September, in which 11 people were killed – with a follow-up strike targeting the boat after the first attack left two survivors in the water.

US media reported defence secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order that everyone on board should be killed.

However, there are concerns about the legality of the second strike if the survivors posed no threat.

Mr Hegseth dismissed the reporting as “fake news” and insisted all actions in the region are compliant with US and international law.

“Every trafficker we kill is affiliated with a Designated Terrorist Organization,” he said on X.

Mr Trump said on Sunday he would not have wanted a second strike and that Mr Hegseth had denied giving such an order.

Ms Leavitt confirmed on Monday that the boat had been hit by a second strike – but denied Mr Hegseth gave the order for the follow-up.

Instead, she said he had authorised US navy vice admiral Frank Bradley to attack, and the admiral acted “well within his authority and the law, directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the US was eliminated”.

As the US weighs its next steps, Mr Trump said on Sunday he had spoken to Mr Maduro by phone and that the conversation went neither “well or badly”.

In recent days, he also stated that Venezuela’s airspace should be considered closed – with the South American nation calling it a “colonial threat” and “illegal, and unjustified aggression”.

World

Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan healthy but isolated in jail, his sister says

Published

4 hours ago

December 2, 2025

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Former Pakistan PM Imran Khan healthy but isolated in jail, his sister says

Imran Khan is suffering from isolation, his sister said, after weeks of not being able to see his family.

Khan has been in jail since his August 2023 arrest after he was handed a three-year jail term for illegally selling state gifts.

Uzma Khanum was the only family member permitted to meet him in Adiala jail, Rawalpindi, where supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party had gathered to protest against conditions of the 73-year-old’s detention.

Ms Khanum said that Khan, a former cricketer, is facing isolation and psychological strain in prison following weeks in which his family said access had been blocked.

“He’s physically well,” said Ms Khanum, one of Khan’s three sisters. “But he’s kept inside all the time, and only goes out for a short while. There’s no contact with anybody.”

The meeting took place under strict supervision, said Ms Khanum, though she declined to provide further details.

PTI says routine prison visits have been blocked for weeks despite court orders, fuelling rumours about his condition and possible prison transfers.

Authorities deny any mistreatment, and say that Khan is receiving all entitlements available to prisoners.

Khan served as prime minister from 2018 to 2022.

He has claimed that the charges against him are politically motivated – and aimed at blocking his political career.

Khan’s wife, Bushra Bibi, is serving time in the same prison over corruption, but they are not allowed to see each other except when they appear in court, his supporters have said.