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Ghanbari was arrested during the demonstrations. After being detained for five days in the so-called quarantine area of Evin Prison in Tehran, he died at the age of 22.
Prison authorities told his mother, Fatemeh Malayan Nejad, that his son had committed suicide. "My son called me from jail, he told me that they had beaten him," Nejad told CNN. "It's a big lie that he committed suicide, and I will not rest until the truth is revealed." Ghanbari's mother says that she thinks she was murdered.
Ghanbari is one of nine protesters who died in "suspicious circumstances" after being arrested by the Iranian authorities in 2018, according to a report released by Amnesty International and released on Jan. 24. According to the human rights organization, at least 26 protesters were reportedly killed. in the streets and more than 7,000 regime dissidents were arrested during the year. Of this number, 11 lawyers, 50 media professionals and 91 students were arbitrarily arrested.
The Iranian government has not responded to CNN's request for comment
But the Iranian protest movements do not seem to want to calm down. As security forces intensified their crackdowns, dissidents continued to stage demonstrations. Instead of canceling the dissent, experts say the Iranian crackdown may have encouraged activists.
"The protesters feel that they have nothing to lose," said Mansoureh Mills, Amnesty International's Iran researcher. "In the past year, thousands of workers across the country have been anxious not to be paid for months and have trouble feeding their families."
"You only have to watch videos of these protests On social media, listen to the workers shouting:" We are not afraid of jail because we are not afraid of jail because "We have nothing left to lose" to understand how emboldened they are, "said Mills.
The wave of 2018 demonstrations
But while the Green Movement attracted much larger numbers, the geographic scope of the 2017 and 2018 protests took the authorities by surprise. Protesters came largely from outside the capital. They gathered in the main cities of the northeast – such as the conservative Mashhad Fortress – and in the provinces. They are also largely from the working class of the country. Both demographics have long been regarded as the centerpieces of the regime's popular base.
"What was remarkable was their geographic extent," says Mohammad Ali Shabani, Iran Pulse editor at Al-Monitor. "It should also be noted the lack of support from the elites: beyond general statements of sympathy for claims such as job creation and lower consumer prices, no camp major political party has sided with the protesters. "
Despite the regime's violent response to the initial protests of 2017 and 2018, individuals and co-ordinated groups of dissidents continued to publicly call for political and social reforms throughout 2018.
As the economic crisis unfolded Iranian worsened, peaceful demonstrations took place in July and August. authorities have dispersed using live ammunition, tear gas and water cannons, according to Amnesty.
"(The crackdown) is the worst we've seen in the last decade," Iran's Amnesty International researcher CNN Raha Bahreini told reporters.
Some brave women
The most publicized social movement to take off in 2018 was the demonstration against the Iranian law on the mandatory hijab.
On December 27, 2017, Vida Movahedi, a 31-year-old Iranian mother, climbed to the top of a utility box in one of Tehran's busiest streets and silently waved a white headscarf on a stick. She stood up, her long hair floating in the breeze.
Movahedi was arrested a few hours later, but a photo of his solitary act became viral. The picture helped galvanize the social media campaign "White Wednesdays" of Iranian Masih Alinejad, in exile. The movement encourages people to demonstrate against the obligatory headscarf law by wearing white on Wednesdays or leaving unveiled.
Alinejad receives images and videos of these events during his campaign. She then shares them on her social media accounts, which bring together more than 2.3 million subscribers. A few weeks after Movahedi's gesture, women from all over the country were filming themselves, unveiled in busy streets, as a sign of solidarity.
By the end of 2018, at least 112 activists had been arrested or detained, according to Amnesty. Despite the arrests, the movement of White Wednesdays continues today and shows no signs of disappearing.
Shaparak Shajarizadeh, 43 years old, active member of the movement, was arrested three times in 2018 before finally flee to Turkey, then to seek asylum in Canada. She was first arrested on February 21 for sharing a video of herself online reflecting Movahedi's demonstration.
"I was beaten at the office of morality and security, then they sent me to solitary confinement in jail.I went on a hunger strike for a week, then I was released, "Shajarizadeh told CNN. "After that, I received threatening calls.They told me to stop publishing my photos online and to talk about the laws relating to the mandatory hijab."
Nasrin Sotoudeh, a prominent human rights lawyer and advocate for women's rights in Iran, is in charge of the Shajarizadeh case. While awaiting his conviction, Shajarizadeh was illegally detained by the authorities in March and May. She says she was tortured, threatened and thrown into Evin's prison.
"I was accused of corruption and prostitution for posting pictures without my online hijab," Shajarizadeh said. "They told me to drop Nasrin Sotoudeh as a lawyer, threatening to charge me with national security charges against the country if I kept it."
Shajarizadeh was sentenced to 20 years in prison, 18 of which were suspended. Sotoudeh herself was arrested on 13 June 2018 for defending several anti-hijab protesters. She faces national security charges that could sentence her to more than 10 years in prison.
According to the Center for Human Rights in Iran, his family refuses him visits. On January 23, Sotoudeh's husband, Reza Khandan, also a prominent human rights lawyer, was arrested and sentenced to six years in prison on security-related charges.
Intentions of the United States
Throughout 2018, senior officials US administration officials – including President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo – have lined up repeatedly with Iranian protesters to further isolate the regime.
Pompeo seems to be personally interested in anti-hijab protests and on at least two occasions in 2018, he tweeted footage of the Vida Movahedi protest. In June, he even posted a Movahedi graphic next to a photo of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with the slogan "The Iranian people deserve respect for their fundamental rights". The State Department also tweeted several messages for women's rights in Iran, all written in Farsi.
"If they decide not to do so, we will remain vigilant. "Continues Pompeo.
What to expect in 2019
Although more and more Iranians are publicly expressing their social and economic grievances, the lack of political organizations Iranian opponents have left analysts confident in the fact that protest movements pose no serious threat to the regime.
"We can expect more protests in the coming months as the economic situation deteriorates. They are likely to be led because of their lack of organization, the formulation of clear and unitary demands and the 'elite membership,' said Shabani, of Al-Monitor.
United States Ambassador John Limbert, who was held captive during the 1979 hostage crisis and served as deputy undersecretary of state for Iran in 2009, is confident that the plan will prevail. "In the Islamic Republic, the authorities still feel threatened," said Limbert. "They will do what they have to do to stay in power, if it requires brutality, too bad, if that means flexibility, they will try that."
"The same men's club has been operating since 1979. Although Age is catching up with them, they will stay as long as they can, and it is clear that they are mostly ignorant of the realities of their own society, where people are creative, engaged and well educated, "Limbert told CNN.
January 29, Global Threat The 2019 appraisal report was released by US intelligence director Dan Coats. "We believe that Tehran is ready to take more aggressive security measures in response to the upsurge of unrest," the document said.
While the regime seems about to crack in 2019, the same goes for some of the protesters.
A 38-year-old man from Mashhad, who participated in the 2017 and 2018 support demonstrations. The White Wednesday movement told CNN that, despite the beatings, threats, and convictions at the prison, it was Had no intention of remaining silent in 2019. "I will continue to demonstrate until the hijab law is repealed and until the Iranian people are free to act." this despotic religious regime, "said the protester, who refused to reveal his name for security reasons.
Amnesty International's forecast for the coming year echoes his remarks. "Iran is plagued by an unprecedented crisis that is rooted in a convergence of serious political, economic, environmental and human rights issues," said researcher Bahreini.
"So we can expect the protests against poverty, inflation, corruption and political authoritarianism to develop in the country."
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