Islamic Republic officials condemn treatment of Parisian protesters but make no mention of their own human rights violations
While criticism of the Islamic Republic has increased in recent days over human rights violations in Iran, officials in the Islamic Republic condemned the French government's actions in the recent unrest.
In recent days, the US Secretary of State, the State Department's Twitter account, and the organization's Persian Twitter account have written in messages about widespread human rights violations in Iran, but instead of responding to these cases, the Islamic Republic has called for "French restraint" in dealing with the protesters in defense of the French protesters; an action that has been met with protests.
In the latest reaction from Islamic Republic officials, Iran's Judiciary Chief Sadegh Amoli Larijani on Monday called the recent unrest in France a continuation of the "wave of Islamic awakening" that, as predicted by the Iranian leader, has reached European countries. Iranian officials have called on France to allow people to express their opinions freely.
Iranian state television also attempted to compare the protests in France with those in Iran in a news segment, but did not broadcast images of the protests inside Iran.
Previously, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman had advised the French government to exercise "restraint" in dealing with the protesters.
The Islamic Republic, a major culprit in human rights violations
These comments by the Islamic Republic's institutions come at a time when Iran itself has been repeatedly criticized by international organizations for its widespread human rights violations.
In recent protests, including those by the Haft Tappeh sugarcane workers and nationwide truck drivers' strikes, many protesters have been arrested by Iranian security forces, some of whom have been given harsh sentences. The judiciary has even threatened to issue death sentences to the defendants on several occasions.
The Islamic Republic, the old opportunist
In an interview with the Persian service of the Voice of America, journalist Reza Haghighat Nejad described the Iranian authorities' approach to the recent events in France as "a precedent-setting opportunism" in the behavior of the leaders of the Islamic Republic, which has previously been seen in the events of the Arab Spring and events in England.
The journalist stated: "With this opportunistic approach, the Islamic Republic intends to say that you Westerners behave like us, and it is even trying to emphasize by magnifying and focusing on specific points that the Islamic Republic's behavior has basically been kinder than that of Western countries."
Varitnejad stated that the Supreme Leader of Iran has repeatedly emphasized that the Islamic Republic has a "demanding language" in its human rights positions, and continued: "With such an approach, the Islamic Republic is trying to legitimize its actions or normalize its violent behavior towards Iranian citizens; especially after the events of 2009, when the Islamic Republic's violent treatment of protesters against the results of the presidential election was widely protested around the world."
These reactions are noteworthy because the Islamic Republic has had security, intelligence, and law enforcement interventions in response to popular protests for years. The events of the 2009 presidential election are one such example.
The Islamic Republic's clashes with protesters resulted in the deaths of many, but to this day, no institution has been held accountable for the killing of people like Neda Agha-Soltan.
The events of January last year are another such event, which, according to a report by Human Rights Watch, resulted in at least 30 deaths, but government agencies did not publish exact statistics on the deaths of protesters.
Source: Voice of America
