Iran's government forces were reportedly flooding the city of Saqqez, the hometown of Mahsa Amini, on Saturday, the eve of the second anniversary of her death in the custody of the morality police.
In an interview with VOA’s Persian Service, sources reported severe internet disruptions in multiple cities, including Saqqez and Sanandaj. Checkpoints also had been established at key entry and exit points in Saqqez, as well as in several neighborhoods across Sanandaj, another Kurdish-majority city in northern Iran, the sources said Saturday.
On Thursday, the human rights organization Hengaw posted a video on its X account reporting that "a large number of government security forces have entered the city of Saqqez through the Bukan road."
Several journalists also noted a significant presence of what they called armed agents throughout the city.
Journalist Nazila Maroufian said, "residents of Saqqez are reporting the deployment of a large number of armed agents in the city, ahead of the second anniversary of Mahsa Amini's death," in a post on X, formally Twitter.
Amjad Amini, Mahsa Amini's father, has announced that, barring any government interference and "in response to public calls and requests," a memorial ceremony for his daughter would take place Sunday.
"We, the family of Zhina, like any grieving family, will gather at the grave of our beloved daughter Zhina (Mahsa) Amini on the anniversary of her martyrdom to hold the traditional and religious memorial ceremony," Amini's parents, Mojgan Eftekhari and Amjad Amini, wrote in a post on Instagram.
Reports indicate that, ahead of the second anniversary of Amini's death and the onset of the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ uprising, several citizens and civil activists have been arrested. The Islamic Republic has also intensified its pressure on families seeking justice.
In a report released Friday, United Nations Human Rights Council-appointed independent investigators warned that two years after the ‘Woman, Life, Freedom’ uprising — sparked by Amini's death while in the custody of the morality police — the Iranian government has escalated “its efforts to suppress the fundamental rights of women and girls [to] crush remaining initiatives of women’s activism.”