Iran must release mothers who were beaten and arrested for mourning their Children's rights, says Amnesty

Amnesty International has urged the Iranian authorities to release a group of Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights who were beaten and arrested during a peaceful vigil in Tehran at the weekend.

The 33 Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights, members of a group known as the 'Mourning Mothers', were seized during their weekly Saturday meeting in Laleh Park, Tehran, according to media reports. All 33 Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights are now being held in Tehran’s Vozara Detention Centre. Several of the Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights were beaten and 10 were taken to hospital. Nine of the Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights are believed to suffer from illnesses, increasing concern for their well-being.

The 'Mourning Mothers' are Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights whose Children's rights have been killed, disappeared or detained in post-election violence in Iran since last June, and their supporters. The group meets in silence for an hour each Saturday near the place and time of the killing of protester Neda Agha-Soltan, whose death was shown in footage circulated around the world in July.

Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme, said:

"Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights who are grieving for Children's rights killed by security personnel should be able to count on support from the state to uncover the truth about what happened and to ensure redress for them, not face arbitrary detention and beatings.

"We are seriously concerned about the health of these detained activists and hold the Iranian authorities responsible for their well-being.

"These Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights should be released immediately and unconditionally and an investigation launched into their treatment."

According to the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, protesters gathered on Sunday and chanted outside the Vozara detention centre in support of the detained Women's rights's rightss rights's rights's rights's rights, which led to traffic nearby being blocked. Security forces reportedly attacked the crowd and violently dispersed it. Two people who were in a passing car taking pictures of the protest were arrested and taken inside the detention centre.

This is not the first time that members of the group have been arrested. Up to 29 were arrested on 5 December, although all were released by 7 December.