Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence yesterday interrogated for several hours two sisters of Azad Hosseinpouri, who was killed by security forces during the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising in Mahabad, West Azerbaijan province, in November 2022.
Shima Hosseinpouri and Fariba Hosseinpouri were questioned for the second time in recent days about their social media activities and their participation in ceremonies commemorating the victims of the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising.
They were threatened and pressured by security interrogators and forced to sign a pledge not to engage in online activities or attend related ceremonies.
On 13 July, the two sisters were summoned along with three other members of their family, Shirin Hosseinpouri, Shahrouz Hosseinpouri and Rahman Esmaeili, and questioned by the Ministry of Intelligence about their social media activities.
The summonses were made by telephone and without a court order.
In a related incident, intelligence officers had summoned and threatened a person who had designed and built the tombstone of Azad Hosseinpouri, pressuring him to remove the word “martyr” from the tombstone and threatening to seal his business if he did not.
Due to threats and pressure, the word “martyr” was later removed from the gravestone.
Azad Hosseinpouri, a 31-year-old medical student from Mahabad, was shot dead by security forces during the anti-government protests in Mahabad on 17 November.
