Seven people with links to Britain arrested in Iran over anti-government protests 

Seven Iranians with ‘links’ to Britain have been arrested by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard following anti-government protests. 

A statement published by state media confirmed that seven ‘main leaders’ of the protests, some of whom had dual UK citizenship, had ben detained on Sunday.  

The British foreign ministry said it was seeking further information on the reports of the arrests. 

There have been widespread protests across Iran and around the world following the death of a 22-year-old woman, who was arrested for wearing ‘inappropriate attire’. 

Widespread protests erupted in Iran after the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody in September. Masha Amini had reportedly been badly beaten (a demonstration held in London on December 21)

Protests in Iran have been supported by demonstrations across the world in the aftermath of Masha Amini’s death in September (protestors in Turkey on Christmas Eve)

‘Seven main leaders of the recent protests related to the UK were detained by intelligence services of the IRGC (Revolutionary Guards) including dual nationals who were trying to leave the country,’ the statement read.

The arrested protestors are said to be part of a group calling itself Zagros. The group’s social media channels were suspended before the arrests. 

The protestors were accused of ‘fuelling the flames of the protests’.  

The Iranian authorities have imposed an internet blackout since September.  

The reported arrests follow unrest triggered by the September 16 death in detention of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian who was arrested for wearing ‘inappropriate attire’ under Iran’s strict Islamic dress code for women.

Iranian woman paints a gallows on her face to mark the murder of Mohsen Shekari during the demonstration on December 10 in Barcelona. Nearly 200 people marched down Barcelona’s Las Ramblas to the front of the city hall to demonstrate against the brutality of the Islamic regime

Protestors in central London demonstrate against the killing of Masha Amini by Iranian morality police 

Nazanin Zaghari-Radcliffe was released from Iran in March this year. Research suggests at least 66 dual and foreign nationals have been held in Iran since 2010

The protests, in which demonstrators from all walks of life have called for the fall of Iran’s ruling theocracy, has posed one of the biggest challenges to the Shi’ite Muslim-ruled Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.

Up to 506 protestors have been killed in the disruption so far, including 69 minors, according to human rights organisation HRANA.  

The government has blamed the unrest on demonstrators bent on destruction of public property and says they are trained and armed by enemies including the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The UN removed Iran from its Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) earlier this month over the Islamic state’s reaction to the protests.  

Research suggests that at least 66 foreign and dual nationals have been detained in Iran since 2010, including Nazanin Zaghari-Radcliffe, who was released in March 2022.