Rights Group Calls For Special UN Session On Iran Amid Protests
Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard
Amnesty International has called for a special session of the UN Human Rights Council over crimes against the Iranian people by the government and religious authorities.
In a tweet on Sunday, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said, “The international community must call for a special session of the UN Human Rights Council to create a UN investigative and accountability mechanism on Iran government and religious authorities' far too many crimes against the Iranian people.”
She made the call in reaction to a large fire in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison Saturday evening as gunshots and blasts were heard, with hundreds of political prisoners among the inmates.
“This must be terrifying. Let's recall that the authorities have the legal obligation to respect and protect the lives and well-being of all the prisoners,” Callamard said.
At least four people have been killed during the fire and shooting in Evin Prison Saturday night, sources told Iran International. Prisoners confirmed that they have seen the dead bodies of the four fellow inmates wrapped in body bags at the prison’s medical area.
The Center for Human Rights in Iran said that it received reports of a “gun battle” in Evin prison Saturday night that was continuing at 22:00 local time (14:30 Washington DC time and 19:30 London time).
The human rights monitoring group said that gunshots were first heard in Ward 7 of the prison, housing inmates convicted for financial crimes, and then the confrontation spread to other parts of the prison.
While the nationwide uprising in Iran entered its second month on Saturday, IRGC Special Force Commander General Hassan Karami claimed, "the unrest is over!"
In an interview with the ultraconservative Hamshahri Online Karami also claimed that those taking part in the protests are not ordinary individuals. They were trained saboteurs, “expert in creating flash mobs using hit and run tactics, who were organized in groups of three or four and were armed with all sorts of weapons including grenades."
The IRGC general tried to portray the protesters as better armed than his special units, claiming that his forces just use “paintball shotguns”, while opponents display full metal jackets with war ammunition.
So far, security forces have killed more than 230 people, including around 30 children while around 20 security forces have died, mostly plainclothesmen who use clubs and shotguns to attack demonstrators.
General Hassan Karami, commander of IRGC special units
He said as far as he was concerned the protests ended two weeks ago, adding that protesters lacked an ideology. He even claimed that some of them were paid to protest.
As the world watches, Iranian protesters want freedoms like those enjoyed by citizens in most of the world and they seem to have reached the conclusion that their clerical regime has to go.
"Somebody is sitting in a studio abroad and tells the protesters to go ahead," the commander fantasized obviously with Hollywood and Bollywood blockbusters in mind. He quoted one of the detainees as saying, "Somebody gave me an Apple Phone and told me to take part in the protest for one day."
IRGC General Hassan Hassanzadeh, commander of forces in Tehran
Meanwhile, IRGC General Hassan Hassanzadeh, the commander of Mohammad Rassoulallah Corps, which is in charge of Tehran’s security told the official news agency IRNAthat 850 Basij militia members were wounded and three others killed in clashes with the protesters in Greater Tehran area. Some 185 Basij members were wounded in action in just one night, he said.
Hassanzadeh added that the Basij has 380 well-equipped combat ready battalions in Greater Tehran, and claimed that IRGC's commanders have banned the use of military weapons by these units. The claim is contrary to tens of videos going viral on social media that show Basij, IRGC and police personnel shooting at peaceful demonstrators in Tehran and other cities.
Boasting about IRGC's power, he said: "When the enemies seized an Iranian oil tanker, we seized three of their oil tankers and forced them to release our ship." However, he did not say how this is related to recent protests, other than a veiled threat of force.
He said the IRGC's eavesdropping operations have revealed that the enemies wrongly believed that that the regime in Iran is shaky and that the IRGC was unable to control the protests.
General Esmail Kowsari who is now a member of parliament
Meanwhile, General Esmail Kowsari, an IRGC officer who is currently a member of the Iranian parliament, charged in an interview that "Protesters in Iran were paid by the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabi, and that the United Kingdom, France and Germany also supported them."
He also opined that some of the protesters who play a leadership role should be harshly treated by security forces. He claimed that protesters should know that there are individuals in the regime who would be willing to listen to them if they respected the law.
On Thursday, six reformist parties wrote in a letter to President Ebrahim Raisi that they have lawfully requested permission for legal demonstrations in Tehran several weeks ago, but the Interior Ministry has refused to allow them to voice their lawful protest.
A large fire spread in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison Saturday evening as gunshots and blasts were heard, with hundreds of political prisoners among the inmates.
Center for Human Rights in Iran said that it received reports of a “gun battle” in Evin prison Saturday night that was continuing at 22:00 local time (14:30 Washington DC time and 19:30 London time).
The human rights monitoring group said that gun shots were first heard in Ward 7 of the prison, housing inmates convicted for financial crimes, and then the confrontation spread to other parts of the prison.
At this early stage, this information cannot be verified and it is not clear who was firing weapons inside the prison.
The Tasnim news agency affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard quoted a judicial official after midnight that a riot had started in the wards where common criminals are kept and sections holding political prisoners are separate. However, images showed a huge blaze engulfing most of the compound. The official also claimed that the incident was not related to ongoing protests in the country and calm had returned to Evin at around midnight.
These statements also can not be independently verified until perhaps Sunday when human rights monitors and other credible sources provide more concrete information.
A video tweeted from Tehran appears to show that some objects are lobbed at the prison from a distance and once they land explosion take place. If security forces were firing tear gas or another device at the compound, that can explain why the blaze spread quickly. Here is that video:
Special Police anti-riot forces heading to Evin at around 22:oo local time
Fars new agency also affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard confirmed after 22:00 local time that "a riot" took place in the prison by "common criminals" who got into an skirmish with guards and set the clothing depot of the prison on fire. Fars claimed that order has been reestablished and firefighters are extinguishing the blaze. However, eyewitnesses continues to report explosions and gunfire in the compound.
The anonymous group organizing the recent protests, called Tehran Youth, issued a statement calling on people to surround the Evin compound and not allow government forces to enter "to prevent a human tragedy."
This video shows the large blaze and explosion can be heard.
An interesting observation by some Tehran residents noted that the government opened access to the Internet and a few minutes later the news about Evin prison spread.
Photos and videos showed a large blaze in the compound and some reports said that guards at the observation towers had fled the prison amid the spreading fire. However, some guards must still be in the prison if guns are being fired.
Videos show ordinary people who heard about the incident have been trying to reach the prison, possibly in a bid to help the inmates. One video showed a large traffic jam of cars honking as they tried to reach Evin. Iran International learned that security forces fired tear gas at cars approaching Evin. Apparently one tear gas cylinder hit a car and set it ablaze.
People around the prison said special riot police have been firing tear gas both inside the prison at inmates who broken out of the buildings and also the crowd gathered outside.
The crowd outside were chanting "Death to the dictator".
An eyewitness says the explosions were so huge that the blast waves broke the windows of nearby houses.
One emergency worker at the scene told the official government news agency IRNA that no one had died but there were at least eight people injured. However, with multiple sounds of explosions and a huge blaze, it is hard to believe that an emergency crew member would have full information at this stage.
Amid nationwide protests that have even mobilized Iranian high school students, the Islamic Republic authorities are removing photos of the Supreme Leader in fear of being torn or damaged.
According to an article in Ham-Mihan daily on Saturday, school principles were ordered to remove Ali Khamenei’s portraits, and the pictures of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ruhollah Khomeini, hanging in classrooms in all the schools in Iran.
The decision was made after numerous videos surfaced on social media showing students tearing down the photos or replacing them with antigovernment slogans or photos of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman whose death in the custody of hijab police sparked the current uprising against the clerical regime.
According to the report, Basij paramilitary forces have assumed a more active role in the management of schools, and many principals have been summoned or fired due to their lack of harsh reactions to protesting students.
Outraged by government violence against schoolgirls, people in the northwestern city of Ardabil took to streets on Saturday to protest violence by security forces against their children.
Based on information received by Iran International, school officials tried to force the students to sing a song, “Hello Commander” in praise of Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei. Some students refused and then government agents showed up, beating and assaulting the girls. One student reportedly died of her injuries, and another one is hospitalized in critical condition, with reports of several arrests.
US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley has expressed concern about the use of live ammunition by the Islamic Republic’s security forces against the protesters across the country.
In a tweet on Saturday, Malley said, “Sadly, but unsurprisingly, Iran’s government continues to fire on peaceful protestors rather than listening to them.”
Referring to a meeting civil society activists on women’s rights in Iran on Friday, he said that “We had a valuable conversation with human rights activists on the situation in Iran and steps the US can take to support its people’s fundamental rights.”
US President Joe Biden and his top officials in a flurry of meetings and statements on Friday pledged support to Iranians protesting for their basic rights as the protests are entering the second month since they started following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
Joe Biden, visiting a college in Irvine, California said he is “stunned” by the popular protests and that the US stands with Iran’s “brave women”.
Vice President Kamala Harris, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington DC also met separately with Iranian civil society activists based abroad, earlier in the day.
Three Iranian women led by Nazanin Boniadi, an Iranian-born British actress and activist, met with Blinken and other State Department officials to discuss how the United States can support Iranians who have been protesting for more than four weeks.
As anger has risen among Iranians over an attack on students in a high school for girls this week, fresh nationwide protests began on Saturday around noon.
The government has shut off all mobile internet access since Saturday morning in anticipation of large demonstrations, especially in the northwest, among Azari-speaking Iranians who have been outraged by government violence against schoolgirls in Ardabil, with a majority of Azaris.
Based on information received by Iran International, school officials tried to force the students to sing a song, “Hello Commander” in praise of Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei. Some students refused and then government agents showed up, beating and assaulting the girls. One student reportedly died of her injuries.
Unrest has continued every day, including Friday, with protests in several cities, but today’s protests are expected to be larger and more widespread.
Despite the Internet disruption in Iran, news and videos have started trickling out of the country and we follow the situation closely and will update readers throughout the day.
Below we posted news and videos as we received them and tried to verify their authenticity.
Our Live Coverage that began at 13:30 local time on Saturday, ended at 00:42 on Sunday.
Residents from Tehran's southern neighborhood of Nazi Abad are still out on the streets chanting antigovernment slogans, while many women who observe the Islamic dress code – or hijab – by choice are seen among the protesters.
The woman in this photo is carrying a banner vowing to get Iran back from the Islamic regime.
In some parts of the city Ahvaz people are still holding gatherings and chanting slogans against the Islamic Republic while a lot of people in their cars are expressing their support with long honks.
Local sources from the Khuzestan province have reported intense fighting between the agents of the regime and people in the oil-rich city of Masjedsoleyman and the city of Lali. Mobile internet networks in Khuzestan are shut down and landline internet is very weak.
In Hamedan, people are seen throwing stones at the security forces, a rare scene for the city whose citizens have usually been among the last to join the antigovernment protests during the past few years.
In the central city of Yazd, security forces are directly shooting at protesters while several neighborhoods of the city were covered by the teargas shot to disperse the protesters.
The Kurdish majority city of Kermanshah was also a scene of protests on Saturday night, with some reports that claimed the streets were in control of the demonstrators.
Videos coming from the city of Ardabil show desperate riot police forces who have resorted to every conceivable measure but are still unable to control the crowds of people, outraged over the death of a teenage girl who was killed a few days ago.
A small group of protesters chanting slogans in front of a shopping arcade in downtown Tehran. Social media reports say security forces and plainclothes agents are present in large numbers in all areas they suspect protests may erupt.
Hardliner news agencies publish video of an interview with the uncle of another young girl who was reportedly beaten to death by Basij militias inside her school in Ardabil Wednesday. He says she has died of a congenital heart condition at home.
Further footage from protests in Ardabil today shows riot police armoured vehicle trying to run over a protester and riot police police kicking the closed shutters of a shop.
Sporadic clashes are reported from Ardabil, where people are attacking security forces a day after after plainclothes forces killed a schoolgirl and injured several others in a raid on their high school. Iranian authorities have denied reports about the death of the student, identified as Asra Panahi, saying she died due to heart failure.
Students at Shariati Technical and Vocational College held a gathering, removed their compulsory head covers and chanted slogans, calling for others to join them.
Female students at Tehran’s University of Science and Culture have unveiled at the campus in defiance of warnings by the university's authorities, chanting slogans for freedom.
Students at Tehran’s Allameh Tabatabai University interrupted an address by one of the authorities of the university who was threatening students with expulsion and warning them against protests at the campus with boos and slogans.
Another video from Ardabil which shows protesters chanting "Down with the Dictator" where girls in a secondary school were beaten up and arrested for refusing to sing a government propaganda song on Wednesday.
Students at Tehran's Science and Technology University are chanting in support of protesters in Kordestan and Sistan and Baluchestan provinces where security forces have used the most violence and killed many.
People have taken to the street in Ardabil, capital of northwestern Ardabil province, where girls in the secondary school were beaten up for refusing to sing the government propaganda song on Wednesday. One of the girls reportedly died in hospital later.
Protesters are chasing the security forces and chanting "Scoundrels, Scoundrels" at them.
