Mick Hartley

Today marks the anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, beaten to death in custody after she was arrested for not wearing her hijab "in accordance with government standards". The protests continue – as does the brutal persecution of the brave protestors:

A young woman in Iran took her own life after she was arrested by the regime for incorrectly wearing a hijab and then sexually assaulted in custody.

“My friend was arrested for being involved in the resistance and she was sexually abused while in custody,” said Neda, 20, a young languages student in Tehran.

“She took her own life afterwards because of what they had done to her,” she told The Telegraph via an encrypted message on the eve of the anniversary of massive anti-regime protests.

Since her friend’s death, Neda claims to have mounted various acts of “resistance” against the Islamic Republic, such as destroying images of its supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

Neda is just one of thousands of young Iranian women who continue to defy Tehran’s leadership, which is bracing for a fresh round of protests on Saturday as Iranians mark the first anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini….

Sources in Iran told The Telegraph that fresh protests marking Amini’s death on Saturday will likely be met with a brutal response from Iranian security forces. Internet access has been significantly disrupted while checkpoints have been set up to stop vehicles in Tehran.

During the previous crackdown, hundreds of Iranian demonstrators were blinded with shotgun pellets, while others hauled into court were given as little as 15 minutes to defend themselves before receiving the death penalty. Many more, at least 500 according to some estimates, were simply killed in the streets by security forces….

Yasmin, another young woman who also took part in protests in Tehran, said it marked an extraordinary moment where a cross-section of Iranian society – male, female, young and old – came together against the regime.

“I thought if I don’t protest then I could be the next in line to be beaten or killed,” said the 28-year-old. “At first when I heard the news of Mahsa’s death I wasn’t scared about anything, all I thought about was revenge.”

Darya Safai, an Iranian-Belgian politician and former political prisoner in Tehran, said despite the brutal crackdown she believes that the regime will be toppled eventually.

“I can guarantee you that it will happen,” she said. “As you see we have this sort of large-scale protest almost every year now.”