A year has passed since the death of Kurdish woman Jina Mahsa Amini in Iran. The protests that flared up at that time were cruelly suppressed. But the regime in Tehran still believes it is threatened and is trying to protect itself – including against pressure from abroad. That’s why it has arrested dozens of Western citizens. Many were given long prison sentences, some were sentenced to death. The Islamic Republic uses the prisoners as bargaining chips. A cruel model of success.
The call from Tehran comes with German punctuality. Here, in the south of Cologne, in Mariam Claren’s tidy living room, it is 10:30 a.m., in the north of Tehran it is 12. The mother reports from the general women’s wing in Evin Prison. She’s not allowed to make calls abroad, so she called the approved number of a niece in the Iranian city of Shiraz, and her daughter in Germany put her on the call. The Revolutionary Guards record the conversation. “Salam,” said Claren, “hello, Mommy.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
