Protests Continue in Iranian Cities Sunday Evening

Unrest in Iranian cities continued Sunday evening following remarks by Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, who attempted to calm protesters. According to Iranian officials, the number of arrests from street protests has exceeded 370 people.

News and videos published on social media indicate that Sunday evening (December 10 / December 31) protests continued in Tehran, Damavand, Shahinshahr, Arak, Hamadan, Karaj, Tuyserkan, Maragheh, Izeh, Bahashar, Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Khoy, Aligudarz and several other cities, and in most cases turned violent with the intervention of security forces.

Iranian news agencies also reported unrest in Tehran, Karaj, Saveh, Amol, Khorramdarreh, Qazvin, Shahrekord, Bahashar, Sari, Tuyserkan, Hamadan and several other cities.

Videos circulating on social media show an “attack on the Imam Ali Garrison Basij base” in Shahinshahr, Isfahan. According to these reports, in some cities slogans were heard including “Independence, Freedom, Iranian Republic,” “Islamic Republic, death to your tricks,” “Death to the dictator,” and “We die, we die, we reclaim Iran.” Slogans were also chanted against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Video footage shows clashes between protesters and security forces in Kermanshah. In a video from Maragheh, protesters are seen lowering the Islamic Republic flag from the entrance of the city’s governorate building.

Another video was released in which the speaker says: “This is Bahashar, security forces are just beating people.”

Rajanews website spoke of “several hours of artificial turmoil in downtown Tehran” and wrote that “firecrackers set off by rioters in Revolution Square and slogans against sacred values of people is not economic protest; it is American sedition.”

Tasnim News Agency, affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, reported gatherings across Tehran that resulted in “restoring calm” with the presence of security forces.

Fars News Agency reported the continuation of street gatherings in various cities and at the same time wrote that despite these gatherings last night, there was “greater calm in the atmosphere of cities across the country.” Fars also wrote: “News from Alborz Province indicates that riots began in the early hours of tonight, but with the widespread presence of special units and security forces, the atmosphere in Karaj has come under control.”

Mohsen Hamdani, security deputy of Tehran Province governor, said that most streets and roads where riots occurred have returned to calm. He said: “Unfortunately, opportunists who are identifiable to us, by appearing in some streets and squares, shouted structure-breaking slogans against the system.”

Asgar Naserbakht, security and law enforcement deputy of Tehran’s city governor, told ILNA news agency that approximately 200 people have been arrested since Saturday in the vicinity of the intersection of Revolution and Valiasr streets. Other officials have also spoken of the arrest of dozens of others in various cities, bringing the total number of detainees to over 370.

Based on Iranian media reports, Abbas Jafari Dolatabad, Tehran prosecutor, said that detainees have confessed to becoming “emotional and given the atmosphere created, carried out acts such as burning mosques and public places.” He added: “Those responsible for structure-breaking slogans and destruction of public property are not people.”

He considered actions such as calls for riot and destruction of government property as crimes requiring severe punishment and asked judges to pursue prosecutions with full readiness and in cooperation with police against the main perpetrators. He then announced a request from the Tehran prosecutor’s office to pursue an individual who “incited people outside the country to commit terrorist acts, burning of public property and the like.”

Meanwhile, Prince Reza Pahlavi wrote in a Twitter message that the Iranian regime had 38 years to reform and never did. According to him, this regime “instead squandered national wealth, dragged Iran into foreign conflicts and killed tens of thousands of Iranians to maintain its power.”

Boris Johnson, British Foreign Secretary, said he is following Iran’s events with concern and that Iranian citizens must have the right to peaceful protest.

John Kerry, former US Secretary of State, also tweeted about Iranian protesters: “The right of people to peaceful protest and express their desires is a universal right and governments everywhere in the world should respect it.”

The White House issued a statement once again in support of protests in Iran. In this statement, emphasizing the need to hear the people’s voice, it said: “We call on all parties to respect the fundamental right to freely express opinions and refrain from any measures for censorship.”

The White House’s reference is to the blocking of Telegram and Instagram in Iran. Reports from Iranian users last night also indicated restrictions on WhatsApp.

Donald Trump, US president, warned in a tweet against human rights violations in Iran. He wrote that America and the world are closely watching Iran’s developments.

Also Hillary Clinton, Trump’s rival in the presidential election, Bernie Sanders, one of the candidates in the Democratic Party primary elections, and Lindsey Graham, senator of the Republican Party, have also defended Iranians’ right to free protest.

Source: DW