Iranian authorities on Saturday, September 16 obstructed the family of Mahsa Amini from hosting a ceremony to mark the first anniversary of her passing. They placed her father under “house arrest” while sporadic protests broke out across the country, despite a strong security presence, according to human rights organizations.

Iranian authorities on Saturday prevented the family of Mahsa Amini from holding a ceremony to commemorate the first anniversary of her death, confining her father under “house arrest”, as sporadic protests erupted nationwide despite heavy security, rights groups said.

Mahsa Amimi’s father Amjad was detained early Saturday as he left the family home in the western town of Saqez, and then released after being warned not to hold a memorial service at her graveside, the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN), 1500tasvir monitor and Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) said.

Amjad Amini was already summoned by intelligence officials last week after his announcement he planned to hold a memorial ceremony. One of Amini’s uncles, Safa Aeli, was detained in Saqez on September 5 and remains in custody.

Rights groups said security forces had blocked access to the cemetery in Saqez where Amini is buried and Kurdish-focused group Hengaw said a young man named Fardin Jafari was in a critical condition in hospital after being shot in the head near the cemetery. It was not immediately possible to confirm the report.

Iranian authorities say dozens of security personnel were also killed in what they describe as “riots” incited by foreign governments and hostile media.

One of Iran’s most high-profile prisoners Narges Mohammadi, a prize-winning rights activist, and three other women prisoners meanwhile burned their headscarves in the courtyard of Tehran’s Evin prison to mark the anniversary, Mohammadi’s Instagram account said.

The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said a fire broke out at Qarchak prison for women outside Tehran when security forces quelled a protest by inmates.

Persian-language channels based outside Iran, including Iran International, broadcast footage of residents shouting “Death to the dictator” and the main protest slogan of “Woman, Life, Freedom” from apartment blocks in Tehran and its satellite city of Karaj overnight.

Khalil Wakim, with AFP