9 months since Mahsa Amini's death: What's changed?
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00:00 bring in Ershad Alijani from France24's observers team.
00:03 Great to see you, as always.
00:04 You and I spoke last month, and you told me--
00:07 we spoke about things that have changed in Iran.
00:09 You even told me about women in cities
00:12 outside of the capital riding motorbikes.
00:14 Have things improved on since then?
00:18 We have actually some dramatic incidents in the last month.
00:21 Pouya Moulaie, a young Iranian man,
00:23 was killed by several police shots
00:26 while trying to attend the symbolic anniversary of Qiyan
00:29 Pir Falak.
00:30 It was another drama.
00:32 Qiyan Pir Falak was his nine-year-old cousin
00:35 who was killed by security forces during the process
00:38 a few months ago.
00:40 The people of Sakdez went on a general strike
00:43 when the state started construction in the graveyard
00:46 to hide the Mahsa Amini's grave in that city.
00:50 Mahsa Amini came, originated from that city.
00:54 This was the last attack that systematically appeared,
00:57 affected the graves of many symbolic martyrs
01:01 of the revolution, most of them just being destroyed and burned.
01:04 Islamic Republic has fined and even detained some actresses,
01:08 including some superstar of Iranian cinema,
01:11 for refusing to wear the Islamic hijab in public.
01:15 Many university students are dismissed or suspended
01:19 after taking part in the process or refusing
01:22 to wear the Islamic hijab.
01:24 And since two days ago, there have
01:26 been some strikes in a university in Tehran,
01:31 and the security forces attacked the students, and some of them
01:36 are in critical condition in the hospitals.
01:38 The internet is almost shut down, just not officially.
01:42 Uploading a 10-second video on Instagram
01:45 takes sometimes six to seven hours for 10-second video.
01:49 With arrest threats against journalists and activists,
01:52 heavy prison sentences, and the ratification of laws
01:56 push laws to punish him to heavy fines and imprisonment terms.
02:03 Even more than before, women who publicly
02:08 rebel against the Sharia law, it seems
02:11 the regime is trying to show that it's
02:14 in charge by showing off with violence and terror.
02:17 So OK, there's clearly been a clampdown.
02:22 What is the state of relations between the public
02:25 and the state?
02:26 Look, it seems the regime has maneuvered itself
02:30 into a dead end.
02:32 It's unable to prosecute millions of people,
02:35 women who refuse to wear the Islamic hijab, for example,
02:37 women who defy the ban on women riding motorbikes,
02:40 for example.
02:42 And on one hand, we have people, especially women,
02:47 who allow the structure of Islamic Republic, Sharia law,
02:50 to deteriorate.
02:52 And also, we have other people.
02:55 On the other hand, we have the people
02:57 who are angry on every conceivable level.
03:00 For example, we have historical inflation of more than 80%
03:04 in one year, lack of potable water, lack of electricity,
03:09 lack of jobs, deteriorating structures.
03:12 If I summarize, Iranians seem to feel
03:14 that the regime has failed in every aspect of governance.
03:18 But at the same time, this regime
03:20 refuses to compensate people in other aspects,
03:24 such as social or political freedom.
03:26 It continues to execute protesters and kangaroo
03:29 Kurds, arrest and kill the protesters,
03:32 and harass the families of these victims who they have
03:34 been killed or executed.
03:37 Maybe the Islamic Republic had lost by miles every day
03:42 in the women freedom of life protests in the first months.
03:45 Now it seems losing every day by inches.
03:48 Very briefly, Ashad, it sounds like it's a stalemate.
03:51 I think it's really changing.
03:52 Yes, in a sense it is.
03:54 But the events we are witnessing in Iran
03:56 indicate that the hatred in this stalemate
03:58 is increasing day by day by people,
04:01 especially the younger generation
04:03 are distancing themselves more and more
04:06 to every symbol of the Islamic Republic, of course.
04:09 Especially everything that has to do with Islam and Sharia
04:12 is becoming an edema.
04:16 There are many signs of it.
04:19 For example, the violent attacks to the symbols
04:26 of the Islamic Republic.
04:28 For example, putting fire on the Basij bases,
04:31 forces of Revolutionary Guard, mosques,
04:34 as in violent attacks to mullahs in the street
04:37 apparently have increased in recent months.
04:40 Ashad, Ali-Jani, I'm going to leave you there.