Demonstrations in several cities in Iran for the first time in weeks

Mass protests have returned to Iran.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
17 February 2023 Friday 21:24
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Demonstrations in several cities in Iran for the first time in weeks

Mass protests have returned to Iran. Several cities registered the largest demonstrations in several weeks, 40 days after the execution of two men following the marches that began in response to the death, on September 16, of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, detained by police. of morality.

Videos posted on social networks showed demonstrations in Tehran and in the cities of Arak, Isfahan, Karaj and Izeh, in Iranian Kurdistan. In this region, videos shared by the human rights organization Hengaw showed roadblocks in Sanandaj, where there have been numerous protests since Amini's death. In one of them several voices are heard chanting "Death to the dictator!", alluding to the Iranian supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, 83 years old. In other videos apparently recorded in Tehran, similar slogans are heard and a large police presence can be seen on the streets of the capital.

The protesters also marched in the province of Sistan and Balochistan, near Pakistan, taking advantage of the day of prayer on Friday, as has happened in recent months in this territory whose population is mostly Sunni, a factor of divergence from the the country's Shiite ruling party.

Iranian state media have not acknowledged the demonstrations. Since they began five months ago, at least 529 people have been killed in connection with the protest and more than 19,700 have been detained, according to human rights activists. The authorities, for their part, have not offered official data.