is singing “Woman, life, freedom” Hundreds of people marched in Paris on Sunday 15 September to support Iranian civil society, nearly two years after the death of Mahsa Amini, an Iranian Kurd killed in Iran for wearing a badly worn headscarf, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. In total, according to police headquarters, 700 people took part in the march, which began at Place de la Bastille and ended not far from City Hall.
As 34 Iranian detainees began a hunger strike to celebrate the second anniversary of the Women, Life, Freedom movement, Chirinne Ardakani, a French-Iranian lawyer and member of the Justice of Iran collective, estimated that the “sacrifices” Iranians opposed to the regime were not “not in vain”. “Everything has changed in Iran, in mentalities, in society”he told AFP. “We went from an absolutely patriarchal culture, where it was not even a question of being able to protest in the street, to massive support for these women.”
“Distilling fear”
The march, organised by around twenty human rights associations, was supported by Benjamin Brière and Louis Arnaud, two French nationals arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned in Iran before being released respectively in May 2023 and last June. Iran is accused of arresting Westerners without reason and using them as bargaining chips during negotiations between States.
“How ironic to be here today, I who spent almost two years in Evin prison for my alleged involvement in the September 2022 protests”stressed Louis Arnaud, who spoke publicly for the first time since his release. “Yes, I was in prison, but it is an immense honour to have been able to live among you, freedom fighters, who shared my sufferings”continuous.
Three other French people remain detained in Iran: Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, arrested in May 2022 and accused of being spies, as well as a man named Olivier, whose last name has not been made public.
Sylvie Brigot, Director General of Amnesty International, denounced the continued repression. “We still use the death penalty on a large scale as an instrument to instill fear.he lamented. And there are still thousands and thousands of people unjustly detained without trial. » Another demonstration took place at the Trocadéro, which brought together 750 people, according to the police headquarters, also in support of Iranians opposed to the regime.
