Attorney Arrested in Iran for Wearing Green Movement T-Shirt

An attorney has been arrested in western Iran for wearing a T-shirt honoring the Green Movement, an informed source told the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

“Mohammad Najafi was arrested on October 11 [2016] in Shazand, Markazi Province, by agents of the Intelligence Ministry for appearing in public with a T-shirt that had ‘Ashura 88’ printed on it. For his release, bail has been set at 200 million tomans ($63,400 USD),” said the source.

“Usually the bail amount is lower, but Najafi had a prior arrest,” the source told the Campaign. “Shazand is a small town and it would be difficult to meet the bail amount. At the moment, he doesn’t have enough [money to pay it] and his family doesn’t know what to do.”

“Mr. Najafi had been arrested during Ashura in 2009 for taking part in the famous protests in Tehran. That day had a special meaning for him, and he wanted to remind people of the protests and the crackdown that took place,” added the source.

The Green Movement arose in opposition to the outcome of Iran’s 2009 presidential election, which resulted in the widely disputed victory of hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The peaceful protests that swept Iran after the election were violently put down by the state and are still a highly sensitive subject, referred to by hardliners as “the sedition.”

“Ashura 88” is a reference to the mass protests of that year that peaked during the Ashura religious festival in the Iranian year of 1388 (on December 27, 2009).

According to the source, Najafi has been taken into custody on numerous occasions since 2009 for his peaceful activism. He is also facing two charges of “public disturbance” for posting comments on the internet that were critical of the Islamic Republic and for making speeches at civil society gatherings, but neither case has proceeded to trial.

International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran