This is Bianka Zaia, a 38-year-old Assyrian woman who was arrested on November 26, although the confirmation only came on these holidays. She would be held in the notorious Evin jail and she has not been allowed to contact her family. The updated balance speaks of more than 500 dead demonstrators, 18,000 arrested, and close to a hundred death sentences.
Tehran () – In these Christmas days, news has reached that a missing Iranian Christian is being detained by the Tehran authorities for having participated in street protests over the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the moral police. She would have been arrested at the end of November, but the confirmation of her only came on these holidays. What happened once again highlights the iron fist that the ayatollahs are applying against the protesters, including Christians who, along with other minorities, had received orders to “stay away” from the protests.
The Assyrian Policy Institute (API) reported that Bianka Zaia (pictured), a 38-year-old Assyrian Christian detained in Tehran for having participated in recent street demonstrations in favor of women’s rights and freedom of expression, is in the jail. The wave of protests that has involved the entire country, with women in the front row, was triggered by the death of the 22-year-old Kurdish girl in mid-September. The Christian herself is reportedly being held in section 209 of Evin prison, on the outskirts of the capital, and has been denied the assistance of a lawyer and contact with her family.
Activists and NGOs have raised the alarm about the conditions of the woman, among other things because the area of the prison where she is located is reserved for political prisoners and is famous for the harsh prison regime and the widespread use of torture, psychological and physical, including sexual violence. Local sources report that on the night of November 26, plainclothes officers broke into Bianka’s home and seized her computer, mobile phone and other items, including a Bible and religious figures. API executive director Reine Hanna says she is “very concerned” about the lives of people in Iranian jails, especially “those in Evin prison.” The activist denounces the impotence of NGOs and the inertia of international governments in the face of the harsh repression imposed by Tehran, which has intensified even more in recent times, although the “hope” that they will be released is still alive.
Meanwhile, the number of victims of the crackdown continues to grow: the latest estimates by Iran Human Rights (IHR), a Norway-based NGO, report that at least 100 people have been sentenced to death, five of whom are women. (and at risk of imminent execution). The Hrana news agency speaks instead of 508 people killed (including 69 children) during more than 1,200 demonstrations in 161 cities; the number of people arrested exceeds 18 thousand in the period between September 26 and December 7. Finally, the highest representative of the Iranian judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ajeei, called during the meeting of the Supreme Council for “dissuasive punishments” for “the elements that cause disturbances.”
