Mourning Mothers

A contingent supporting Mourning Mothers in Iran participates in the Dec. 28 demonstration in Berkeley, Cal., supporting the movement in Iran in the aftermath of the Ashura Day protests.

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A group of mourning mothers who gather every Saturday in Laleh Park in Tehran, were arrested by the security forces on Jan. 9, when they came out two weeks after the brutal suppression of the uprising on Ashura Day in Iran (see "Ashura revolt shakes regime"). Some were released after 24 hours of detention and the rest were transferred to the notorious Evin prison, where they bravely insisted on everyone's release. Once all were released, they protested right in front of Evin with cries of "political prisoners must be freed." We in the San Francisco Bay Area are one of many communities across the world supporting the Mourning Mothers in Iran.

These women march silently in parks on Saturday evenings to commemorate their children who have been killed, detained, tortured or disappeared after the results of the controversial presidential election in June 2009. The mothers of those who were slain before these recent events, and other supporters, also join them. They want justice: identification and arrest of those responsible for the killings and the violence inflicted on their children during the peaceful marches protesting the results of the election. They want the release of all political prisoners, and freedom of expression for all.

They have consistently asked us to amplify their cry for justice and freedom. Let's bring to the public's attention the situation of these mothers and the struggle in Iran. We have been holding regular informational picket lines.

Join the volunteers of solidarity with the Mothers in Mourning in Iran. Write to margebarmostabed@gmail.com for more details.

--Nazanin Afarin

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