Iranian Students, Expats Hold Protests Against Regime
University students in Iran Saturday held demonstrations in many cities, as diaspora communities continued their weekend rallies in support of the protest movement.
University students in Iran Saturday held demonstrations in many cities, as diaspora communities continued their weekend rallies in support of the protest movement.
Students at Tehran Azad University of Research and Sciences held a sit-in publicizing that they will hold protests on December 7 to mark the annual Student Day in Iran.
Students at Kharazmi University also protested widespread campus food poisonings, chanting “They poison students, and now justify it.”
Within the past ten days, hundreds of students at universities of Esfahan, Arak, Allameh, and Karaj Kharazmi were poisoned after eating dining in cafeterias. Student groups have issued announcements saying that the food poisoning was intentional by authorities to keep them away from protests.
In Tehran University, students at the Faculty of Social Sciences also held a sit-in to protest a recent security beef-up and the restrictions on students.
Many students at Kordistan University also staged a sit-in to protest the arrest of their professors, Behrouz Chamanara.
Meanwhile, Iranians abroad organized gatherings to declare their opposition to the Islamic Republic. In Frankfurt and Melbourne, the “Run for Freedom” program was held with athletes running long distances, and in Brussels artists reflected the voice of Iranian people with dance and music.
Iranians living in Sweden gathered in the city of Gothenburg like in previous weeks and chanted slogans against the Islamic Republic.
Similar demonstrations were held in the city of Auckland in New Zealand, Istanbul, Rome, and Vienna.
Meanwhile, Iranian human rights activist Nargess Mohammadi, who is imprisoned in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison urged Javaid Rehman, the UN special rapporteur for human rights in Iran to probe into sexual assaults on female detainees.
In a statement published on her Instagram Saturday, she said “Assaulting women during incarceration and in custody centers is part of the regime’s suppression plan against female protesters and fighters.”
Mohammadi added that there had been “numerous and horrifying” reports of female prisoners being assaulted and raped in Evin and Zanjan prisons between 2010 and 2020.
The Iranian activist also went on to say that she was “assaulted and insulted by jail and security authorities in Evin Prison” in 2010. She filed a lawsuit, but instead of justice being served, she received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence as well as 80 lashes.
In another part of her letter, she called on Rehman, “to investigate, hold accountable and condemn the government, to prevent the continuation of this inhumane method to suppress protesting women and to take serious and quick action in this regard.”
There have been widespread reports of rapes and other sexual abuse being committed on women detainees, which is seen as part of the brutal crackdown on women protesters demanding freedoms.
In November, a network of activists with a mandate to follow up on the condition of detained protesters in Iran reported dire human rights violations such as torture and sexual abuse.
The “Volunteer Committee to Follow-Up on the Situation of Detainees” reported torture, sexual harassment, threats of rape, not having access to medical services, and the detention of some inmates in secret locations.
The report said a female prisoner has been openly threatened with rape. The interrogators told her and other detainees “If you are raped here, you cannot protest! If you want to get naked, and you must pay for it!” The government and its agents accuse anti-hijab protesters of improper attire and nudity.
The Iranian regime has asked Moscow to dispatch advisors as it is preparing for a long-term confrontation with protesters and concerned about its limited resources both in manpower and equipment.
Secret files recently obtained by hackers and shared with Iran International also shows that Tehran is relying on information from Moscow to assess its own internal situation. There are references in the documents that Russia is eavesdropping on Western communications to give Tehran assessments about the nature and strength of the protest movement.
The new information about Tehran asking Moscow’s help confirmed remarks late in October by the White House that Russia may be advising Tehran on optimal methods to suppress the ongoing protests.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during a joint press briefing with Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House John Kirby that Moscow may be helping the Islamic Republic, drawing on its own experience in suppressing demonstrations.
"The evidence that Iran is helping Russia rage its war against Ukraine is clear and it is public. Iran and Russia are growing closer the more isolated they become," Jean-Pierre said. "Our message to Iran is very, very clear: Stop killing your people and stop sending weapons to Russia to kill Ukrainians."
Kirby said that the White House is certain about Russia’s help in the crackdown on protesters, adding that it is not an allegation but a fact. “We know they may be considering some sort of support to Iran’s ability to crack down on protesters. And sadly, Russia has experience at doing that,” he said.
Kirby called it “just yet another example of Russia and Iran now working together to violate the — not only the human rights and civil rights of people in Iran but, of course, put in further danger the lives of Ukrainians.”
The growing outcry against Iran’s brutal crackdown on anti-government protests ignited by the beating to death of Mahsa Amini that has led to about 470 other killings has now been magnified by the Islamic Republic’s tilt toward Russia and arms support for its invasion of Ukraine.
It has already caused a policy shift in Washington as the Biden administration has said that the revival of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is not a priority at present and that the US focus is on the protests in Iran. US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley said earlier in the week that President Joe Biden is prepared for a military option to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon in case sanctions and diplomacy fail.
A senior Revolutionary Guard commander Saturday told Iran International that the IRGC's chief commanders have called up 1,000 retired members to help quell the popular uprising as they don't have enough forces, but only 300 accepted to return to service and crack down on protests.
Earlier in the week, an audio file obtained by the hacktivist group, Black Reward, revealed concerns among Iranian officials about their worn-out security forces, media failures and labor strikes.
Black Reward found access to Fars News Agency’s data servers in recent days providing Iran International with an audio tape of a meeting between a Revolutionary Guard general and a group of media managers or representatives from outfits affiliated with the IRGC.
About 18,000 people have been arrested since the beginning of the protests, and some death sentences have already been issued for the protesters, though none have been carried out. According to Norway-based HRANA on December 2, 469 protestors and 61 members of the security forces have been killed in protests since September 17.
Residents of several cities Sistan-Baluchistan Province, including its capital Zahedan, held demonstrations after Friday prayers as they have done since unrest began in mid-September in Iran. The protesters are especially enraged over a recently leaked document that revealed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has ordered his officials to defame Abdolhamid, the most prominent religious leader of Iran's largely Sunni Baluch population living in the province.
Earlier this week the hacktivist group Black Reward breached the data servers of Fars news agency, affiliated with the Islamic Republic's Revolutionary Guard, and released several documents indicating that Khamenei is dismayed by Abdolhamid’s remarks, who has been critical of Iran’s autocrat for the indiscriminate crackdown on protests in the province and elsewhere.
Relations between Abdolhamid and the government became tense after security forces opened fire on demonstrators in Zahedan September 30, killing more than 80 people.
In addition to Zahedan on Friday, protesters in Chabahar, Khash, Iranshahr, and Zahak, chanted slogans such as "Sheikh-ul-Islam (Abdolahamid) is with God, Khamenei is disgraced,” “Salute to Mowlavi, Death to Khamenei,” and “With Hijab or without hijab, moving towards revolution.”
According to videos posted on social media, security forces clashed with protesters in Zahedan and used teargas to disperse the gathering.
During his Friday prayer sermon earlier in the day, Abdolhamid decried the torture of detained protesters and warned the Islamic Republic against issuing verdicts that call protesters mohareb (muharib), which means warrior in Arabic. In Iran’s Islamic law the term means ‘enemy of God’ which carries the death penalty.
"A prisoner is a captive. Beating, insulting, cursing and assaulting him is against the teachings of Imam Ali (the first Shiite imam), Ahl al-Bayt (the family of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad), Hazrat Rasool (Prophet Muhammad) and Islam. The dissidents and critics should be treated in an Islamic manner,” he emphasized.
Abdolhamid went on to say that the nation has endured problems for 44 years, now they are protesting, insisting that their protests should not be a pretext to execute them. He said that their demands are legitimate, adding, "We want our country to be safe and united. We don't have Shiites, Sunnis or ethnic groups here. We are all Iranians. From Zoroastrians and Dervishes to Baha’is. They are also human and Iranian, and their rights should be respected…If an American or an Israeli speaks the truth, it is still the truth," he said.
Dervishes of the Gonabadi order are among religious groups seen as potential security threats in Iran, and are regularly persecuted by the regime. Baha'is, who number around 300,000 in Iran, also say their rights are systematically violated and they are often harassed, forced to leave their homes and businesses, and are deprived of government jobs and university education. Khamenei has on several occasions called the Baha'i faith a cult and in a religious fatwa in 2018 forbade contact, including business dealings, with followers of the faith.
Referring to the recent leak and the regime’s efforts to tarnish his image, Abdolhamid said "If the reign and power are in your hands, it was God's will. If we have respect and love of people, it is also a God's gift. What God gives, only He can take back. God gives honor and takes it away. No one else can take someone’s honor."
Abdolhamid's popularity is largely because of his willingness to challenge Khamenei’s absolute power. Earlier in November, the outspoken Sunni Imam said women, ethnic and religious groups have faced discrimination after the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979.