Arafi, Alireza

Member of the Guardian Council and the Assembly of Experts, which are sanctioned by the Canadian government for human rights abuses. As the Canadian foreign ministry noted, the Council is “an entity that blocks meaningful participation in Iran’s elections by disqualifying candidates who do not align with the regime’s ideology and upholds laws that systematically violate the human rights of Iranians," and the Assembly is "an entity implicated in gross and systematic violations of human rights for its neglect in upholding constitutional provisions such as Article 38, which forbids torture."¹

Arafi promised "death" to protesters who flip the turbans of Iranian clerics. "Those who attack the turbans of the clergy should know that the turban will become their shroud," he said.²

Head of the Iranian Seminary.³

Member of the Supreme Council of the Cultural Revolution, an extremist-dominated government policy-making body that developed stricter regulations in 2019 for mandatory hijab wearing. Appointed by the supreme leader. Headed by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who has spearheaded increased enforcement of hijab laws and regulations, including by the "Morality Police."⁴

Sources:

1. https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2022/10/canada-sanctions-additional-representatives-of-the-iranian-regime.html;  https://www.iranintl.com/en/202207160716

2. https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3984041/head-iran’s-seminary-promises-‘death’-turban-flippers

3. https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3984041/head-iran’s-seminary-promises-‘death’-turban-flippers

4. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/iranian-linked-to-hijab-crackdown-is-director-of-british-migrant-charity-7729fcrkp; https://sccr.ir/members/3