Mourning Mothers Attacked

After 20 black-attired women who had gathered at Laleh Park in Tehran to mourn their loved one who were killed in the post election protests were arrested earlier this week, reports emerged that a statement was signed and issued by “Mourning Mothers” indicating that they intended to hold grieving gatherings every Saturday between 7 and 8 pm in different parks of the capital.

The statement of the “Mourning Mothers” read, “The silent and peaceful mourning of mourning mothers that took place on June 27^th was unfortunately met with insults, beatings and arrest of a number of mothers and young women at the hands of law enforcement and military forces. Despite police efforts to prevent women from entering Laleh Park and to disperse them, more than 500 mothers succeeded in gathering in the various corners of the park and mourn their lost children who had been martyred while participating in peaceful protests following the tenth presidential election [on June 12^th, 2009]. Following the initial call to mourning mothers, we declare that we shall gather every Saturday between 7 and 8pm in Laleh Park and other parts to mourn until violence is ended, all prisoners who have been detained because of protests against election fraud and particularly mothers who have been arrested in Laleh Park are released, and the murderers of our children are punished.”

The statement directly addresses members of law enforcement forces and reads, “To our brothers and sons in the law enforcement and military services! We as your mothers treat you with respect and in a motherly manner, and [call on you to] keep our respect and not engage in violence against your mothers so that you are not cursed by them.”

Azadeh Hajizadeh reported on the first gathering of mourning mothers in Laleh Park to the Change for Equality website in these words: “Following the invitation, a group of mourning mothers went to Laleh Park to hold a peaceful march at 7pm on Saturday evening around the pool of the park. Some mothers came with black ribbons or black candles. Starting from 5pm, the police began preventing women from sitting on the park benches around the pool and directed them to leave the park. When some women protested and would not leave, they told the others to leave, and said that they would deal with the ones who stay behind. A woman wearing a black veil protested and said ‘tell me that there is martial law and then I would leave’. But the agents used such filthy language that everybody was shocked.”

“While the invitation said the gathering would begin at 7pm, women, mostly middle aged, began arriving at 5pm and filled all the benches around the pool, particularly the second rows. As more women kept coming, they were prevented from entering the park, particularly those who wore black. Then they brought police cars into the park. One agent began taking a video film of the faces of the women which is when the women cried out in unison as a protest. The police then led the women to a side street and began beating them. They arrested some and broke up the gathering,” the statement reads.

The report said that more than 20 women had been arrested, pointing out that some may have been taken to the Vozara street detention center. There was no news from other detention centers in the city. According to the report, those arrested included women who were in the area by accident and had nothing to do with the gathering.