Continued Crackdown on Protesters | Four Arrested on Charges of ‘Monarchism’ in Isfahan

FCNN EditorDecember 16, 2019

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Four citizens residing in Isfahan have been arrested by security forces, with Iranian state media claiming they are accused of “monarchism.”

Iranian news agencies reported that these individuals, referred to as “members of an active monarchist network” and “members of the homeland fighting network of Isfahan,” were arrested on Thursday, December 12, by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in Isfahan province during a meeting at one citizen’s home. These media outlets claimed that items including “night letters, lion and sun flags, slogan-writing tools, and glass bottles for incendiary bombs” were discovered at the arrest site. These media outlets have not published any statements from those arrested.

The wave of suppression of protesters continues following the late November protests. Judicial and security officials have announced that numerous individuals have been arrested on various charges.

Previously, in continuing the widespread suppression of protesters in Iran, law enforcement authorities announced on Thursday, November 28, the arrest of seven protesters in Isfahan.

These arrests are taking place following recent popular protests in Iran, during which Isfahan province has been the scene of continuous and intense popular demonstrations. Protesters in this province set fire to a billboard bearing Khamenei’s image and set fire to the cyber police building and other facilities in Baharestan, Isfahan.

One of the slogans chanted by protesters during these demonstrations was “Reza Shah, may your soul rest in peace.” Previously, images from Andisheh neighborhood in Karaj and Mashhad were released by Voice of America showing people chanting this slogan.

Following a sudden spike in gasoline prices, Iran witnessed widespread popular protests against the Islamic Republic. On Friday, November 15, protests began in various Iranian cities shortly after the sudden announcement of gasoline price increases. Just one day after the protests started, the Islamic Republic nearly completely shut down the internet on Saturday night, November 16.

Previously, Amnesty International stated in its latest report on the suppression of November’s popular protests that according to credible reports received by the organization, at least 208 people were killed in these protests, with the actual death toll likely being higher.

Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, also on Thursday, December 5, at a press conference referring to Iran’s popular protests, described it as the biggest crisis in the Islamic Republic’s history and said that since the protests began, perhaps a thousand people in Iran have been killed; however, the Iranian regime does not permit accurate reporting.

President Donald Trump also on Tuesday, December 3, again reacted to Iran’s government’s treatment of protesters and at the margins of the NATO summit said: “It is very unfortunate that protesters in Iran have been killed simply because they protested.”

The U.S. President at the margins of this summit several times referred to the subject of Iran’s protesters and American support for the Iranian people, saying: “The protesters in Iran are seeking freedom and we fully support them.”

Source: Voice of America

FCNN Editor

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