HRANA – Yesterday, Wednesday, September 16, marking the fourth anniversary of the death of Mahsa (Jina) Amini, merchants and shopkeepers in several cities across the country refrained from their daily business activities and went on strike. Meanwhile, a heavy presence of security forces created a heightened security atmosphere in Saqqez. Security forces also blocked routes leading to the city’s Aichi Cemetery, preventing Mahsa Amini’s family and other citizens from visiting her grave.

According to HRANA, yesterdam, September 16, 2026, merchants and shopkeepers in Sanandaj, Saqqez, Mahabad, Baneh, Bukan, Divandarreh, Oshnavieh, Piranshahr, and Qorveh went on strike.

Kurdpa, which covers human rights violations in Kurdish regions, also reported strikes by merchants and shopkeepers in Kermanshah, Urmia, Kamyaran, and Marivan.

Reports received by HRANA indicate that security forces established a heavy presence throughout Saqqez, creating a heightened security atmosphere. By blocking the main and secondary roads leading to Aichi Cemetery, they prevented Amini’s family and other citizens from visiting her grave.

Despite four years having passed since Mahsa Amini’s death, there has yet to be effective judicial accountability regarding the circumstances of her death or the responsibility of the individuals and institutions involved, and no reports have been published to date of anyone being tried or punished in connection with her death. Iranian authorities have from the outset denied that her death was linked to violence or physical mistreatment by officers. The United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran, however, concluded after reviewing evidence that Amini was subjected to physical violence while in custody that led to her death, and that the Iranian state bears responsibility for her unlawful death.

Mahsa (Jina) Amini, a 22-year-old woman from Saqqez who had traveled to Tehran, was arrested by morality police officers at Tehran’s Haqqani Metro Station on Tuesday, September 13, 2022, over what authorities deemed improper hijab. Hours after her arrest, she was transferred in critical condition to the intensive care unit at Kasra Hospital after falling into a coma with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3. She later died at the hospital. The explanations provided by Iran’s Law Enforcement Command (FARAJA) in defense of its conduct regarding Amini’s death, together with the police force’s record and widespread public dissatisfaction with the institution known as the morality police, led to months of widespread protests across many parts of the country.