In different cities of Rojhilat (Eastern) Kurdistan and Iran, people continue anti-government protests by hanging banners and shouting slogans from their houses.

In the city of Sine in East Kurdistan, numerous demonstrators went to Mount Awyar yesterday to protest the death sentences handed to demonstrators.

The Iranian Judicial Institution announced yesterday that 3 activists were sentenced to death in the city of Nawşahir, in northern Iran.

A total of 112 demonstrators have been sentenced to death so far. 4 of them have been executed.

As many people receive heavy penalties, the wave of arrests and detentions continues. Many demonstrators were detained in the cities of Jawanroud, Diwandara and Sine (Sanandaj) yesterday.

These three cities of East Kurdistan are the epicentre of the protests that have been going on for the last 4 months. A good number of soldiers have been deployed to the streets of Jawanroud in particular.

After a speech by the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Hamneyi, pressure on women has increased, while the authorities continue to insist on the mandatory headscarf law. Iranian Chief Prosecutor Abdulsamed Xuremabadi said: "Removing the headscarf is clearly a crime and those who do this are sentenced to 10 days to 2 months in prison along with a monetary fine. Those who encourage women to take off their headscarf can be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.”

IRANIAN STATE ARRESTED 74 JOURNALISTS

74 journalists have been arrested since the start of the uprising in Iran and East Kurdistan. The arrested journalists are held under the most severe conditions in prisons.

Nilüfer Hamidi and Ilahe Mihemidi were among the first journalists to get arrested at the beginning of protests. One was arrested for reporting on the murder of Mahsa Amini at the hospital, and the other for reporting on the burial of Amini. Both women journalists are kept in Iranian prisons, although no court decision has been taken against them.

Iranian authorities charged the two journalists with spying right after their arrests. On October 28, 2022, the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence (Itlaat) and the Iranian Guard Corps made a joint statement, accusing two female journalists of espionage, claiming that they were trained by foreign intelligence agencies. According to the Reporters Without Borders, the two journalists are likely to be sentenced to death because of these charges.

On January 5, Itimad Newspaper Editor Mehdi Beik was detained by the Itlaat forces. Beik was arrested a week after the publication of his interview with the relatives of those arrested during the protests in Iran and East Kurdistan.

According to Feraz news agency, at least 73 journalists have been detained by the Iranian forces since the beginning of the protests in Iran and East Kurdistan. Following the arrest of journalist Beik, this number has increased to 74.

Many of the journalists are still in prison.