Two Iranian mothers whose sons were killed during protests in November 2019 have been released from detention after they were arrested two weeks ago ahead of a demonstration over the country's mandatory hijab law.
Mahboobeh Ramezani and Rahimeh Yousefzad, the mothers of Pejman Gholipur and Navid Behboodi, were released on July 25.
The two were among several people -- all of whom were family members of victims of the November 2019 protests -- arrested by security agents on July 11, one day before a planned protest against the mandatory hijab law that requires women to wear head scarves when in public.
The charges against those detained have not been officially announced, but the Fars news agency, which is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), quoted an "informed source" as saying that the family members of the November 2019 victims were arrested for "receiving money from a foreign financial link to create chaos and insecurity in the country."
For the past three years, Mahboobeh Ramezani and Rahimeh Yousefzad have been grieving the loss of their sons while calling for justice over their death at the hands of Iran's security forces.
Pejman Gholipur, 18, and Navid Behboodi, 23, were shot and killed during the November 2019 protest in Tehran that was triggered by a sudden rise in the price of gasoline.
Gholipur and Behboodi were among thousands of citizens who joined the protests in more than 100 Iranian cities and towns. The protests quickly turned political, with many chanting against the Iranian clerical establishment and its leaders.
The Iranian Human Rights Organization has confirmed the death of 324 citizens, including 14 children, in the protests, but others estimate that the actual number of people killed was as much as five times higher.
Iranian authorities have not held anyone accountable for the killings.