Public Reports of Protests in Karaj City
The special correspondent of the Farsi-speaking Christian News Network reports on yesterday’s events:
Through reports sent by people from Karaj city, residents who had gathered at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery from 9 a.m. to hold a memorial ceremony for Hadith Najafi and Sarina Esmaeilzadeh were once again subjected to a brutal attack by government forces.
They stated that initially the crowd was small and they only protested by clapping and chanting “Hadith the Martyr, Hadith the Martyr.” Among the people, there were many plainclothes officers who had come with cameras, video equipment, and drones, constantly telling them to disperse from the area or they would be dealt with.
Despite the fact that no particular slogans were raised and no unrest had occurred, the plainclothes officers along with security personnel attacked the people, saying “today we will kill all of you.” A terrible confrontation ensued, with tear gas and sound bombs being hurled at the crowd such that dozens of people, perhaps more, fell wounded and bleeding on the ground from the very beginning.
Government officers identified the protesters by shining green laser beams on their clothing and shot at them with sniper fire. It was as if a war had broken out in Behesht-e Zahra cemetery and Hasarak, Karaj.
According to reports from Karaj residents, several officers have been killed on the highway and the streets are filled with plainclothes security forces who are also throwing tear gas into homes.
When people returned from Behesht-e Zahra, they continued their protests, but were attacked and suppressed by security forces. The protesters, in an act of self-defense, broke the concrete barriers placed on the highway and threw them at security personnel.
In these protests, many people were subjected to shots of buckshot and plastic bullets fired by security forces from close range.
Even when people tried to get into their cars, plainclothes and security personnel on motorcycles rushed toward them and smashed car windows such that many were injured again.
Even as people fled, they were shot at close range with plastic paintball bullets and buckshot. All exits from Behesht-e Zahra toward the highway were blocked, and on the highway itself, clashes broke out due to people breaking and throwing concrete barriers at officers.
Highway traffic lasted for an hour during which, amid traffic, clashes, and crowds, people got out of their cars and again moved toward another Hasarak bridge and Khwarezmi Boulevard while chanting slogans and demonstrating.
People took down all flags and set a police station on fire. The clashes were so severe that, resembling a war zone, a helicopter was deployed on the Tehran-Qazvin highway with numerous security forces to suppress the protesters. Several sound bombs were even thrown from these helicopters at homes and streets, such that the clashes and people’s chants spread to surrounding neighborhoods and streets.
The number of plainclothes and security motorcyclists greatly increased, attacking the people with batons, tear gas, and weapons.
In these clashes, according to eyewitnesses, 6 security officers were killed at Behesht-e Zahra cemetery. The protests and clashes, sounds of gunfire and sound bombs, tear gas continued throughout the night in Karaj.
Protests in Shiraz also continue, and throughout much of the evening, the sounds of protest and gunfire can be heard.
Unfortunately, the security situation in Iranian cities is not good at all. People are constantly subjected to attacks and killings by security forces. Even people’s phone lines are being monitored so they can be identified and later arrested.
The Farsi-speaking Christian News Network has published this report to clarify public understanding, and defers verification of the reported news to supplementary reports.
