Continuation of popular protests and security situation in some cities

On Sunday, May 15, the tense security situation and the wave of public protests that began at the same time as the price increase of some food items continued in some cities. Today, in Shahrekord, officers used shotgun pellets, tear gas, and batons to suppress the gatherings. Internet disruptions and outages that had begun since the first day of the protests are still being reported in some parts of the country, including Shahrekord. Today, Shahrekord's representative in parliament confirmed the identity of the second person killed in the protests.

HRANA News Agency, the news organ of the Human Rights Activists' Association in Iran, reported that today, Sunday, May 15, popular protests and a severe security atmosphere continued in various cities of the country.

Protesters in Shahrekord showed their protest against this issue by marching through the streets of these cities and chanting slogans.

A citizen who was present at today's rally in the streets of Shahrekord told HRANA about the current state of the protests: "Before the start of today's protests, the streets of Shahrekord were full of police and security forces. However, the rally took place, and the officers used tear gas and batons from the very beginning to prevent the protests and disperse the people."

A citizen living in Urmia reported to HRANA about the intense security atmosphere in the city, stating: “On all routes leading to the city center, including Iyalat Square, Imam Hussein Square, and Panjrah, there is a large presence of law enforcement and security forces who do not allow pedestrians to travel in groups of more than two.”

An informed source from Tehran also told HRANA: “After around 5:00 PM, the atmosphere in some parts of the city was heavily secured, and officers with military equipment were stationed in Vanak Square, Haft Hoz, and the Second Sadeghieh Square, as well as Haft Tir, the City Theater, and Monirieh.”

A citizen from Sanandaj also complained about the large number of officers in the city and told HRANA: “The presence of security forces in Azadi and Imam Squares, which are the main squares of the city and are considered busy routes, if it does not create a sense of fear and terror among the city’s residents, it certainly will not create a sense of security.”

According to reports received by HRANA, in recent hours, and simultaneously with the resumption of protests, access to home and mobile internet in Shahrekord has been severely limited and sometimes cut off.

The Netblocks website, which monitors the state of the internet worldwide, has reported restrictions and outages of internet services in Iran. Netblocks said that “the recorded outage in Iran is occurring amid ongoing protests.”

Despite the release of a number of those arrested during the popular protests in Dezful, a number of others remain in detention. HRANA has identified another detainee as Hamidreza Mohammadpour, son of Abdul Mohammad, a resident of Dezful.

Also, five of the detainees of the popular protests in the city of Souq, named Hojjatollah Ghandi, Salman Hemtian, Majid Masoudi, Mahna Gargi and Rasoul Mousavi, were released. These individuals, along with a number of other protesting citizens in the city of Souq, located in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad provinces, were arrested by security forces on the morning of Saturday, May 14, after a day of popular protests in the city. These individuals were arrested in their private homes and beaten.

The identities of two other detained citizens of Souk city who are still in detention, Enayat Taqvi and Saadat Taqvi, have been confirmed by HRANA.

HRANA also received a video of a citizen who was allegedly shot by officers during the protests in the city of Chaliche. Following popular protests in various cities in Iran, people in the city of Chaliche in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province also took to the streets in recent days. These protests turned violent when law enforcement and security forces arrived.

It is worth noting that during last night's protests, the police fired shotguns at protesters in some cities. A video obtained by HRANA shows a child being hit in the leg by a shotgun in the city of Sureshjan during last night's protests in that city.

In addition, HRANA has received other videos of two citizens who were allegedly shot and injured by officers during protests in the cities of Cheliche and Shahrekord.

It is worth noting that today, Ahmad Avaei, a representative of the people of Dezful in the parliament, denied this news today, despite having confirmed yesterday that a citizen from Andimeshk was killed during the popular protests in Khuzestan. Meanwhile, ILNA news agency has published an audio file of its reporter's conversation with this member of parliament confirming the killing of a citizen in Andimeshk.

On the other hand, today, official media confirmed the news of the killing of another citizen named Saadat Hadipour in Hashfjan. However, Ahmad Rastineh, a representative of Shahrekord, confirmed this and claimed that Saadat Hadipour was a member of the Basij and was killed on his way home.

Despite the official confirmation of two deaths, it should be noted that the number of names mentioned on social media as those killed in the protests of recent days is higher than this number. HRANA is still investigating these cases.

The formation of popular protests in many cities of Iran regarding the situation in the country and the rampant inflation has also led to the reaction of some well-known figures. In this regard, Ali Nasirian, an Iranian theater and cinema actor, expressed his displeasure with the general mood of the people last night during the “Actor’s Celebration” ceremony, which was held with music and dance performances, and said: “Holding such gatherings these days is not only out of my spirit but also out of the patience of the people; in the current situation, as long as the spirit of our people is not good, we should not celebrate.”

As these protests have taken shape, users of social media have also complained about price increases and expressed support for the protesters. The hashtag “nationwide protests” has been tweeted frequently in recent days, and activists on social media, especially on Twitter, have used the hashtags “unbridled price increases,” “don’t buy until it rots,” and more to express their protest against the price increases of “essential goods.”

Last night, HRANA published a comprehensive report examining the nationwide protests in May of this year. The report describes the circumstances and identities of 33 people arrested in recent days, the comments of officials and reactions to the public protests, as well as the continued disruptions and outages of the internet.

Source: HRANA