Tag: Tehran

Nationwide Protests Continue into Fourth Week

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Freedom of Expression, News
Bukan, IranianProtests, Mahsa Amini, Marivan, nationwide protests, Sanandaj, Saqqez, Shiraz, Tehran

The nationwide protests after the death of Mahsa Amini continued on October 8 and 9, 2022. People in the streets and university students marched and chanted slogans against the regime. In many cities, traders and shopkeepers went on a general strike and closed their shops. People’s access to the global internet is still restricted.  Hacktivists increased their cyberattacks against their regime.

On Saturday, October 8, people took to the streets and demonstrated in several cities, including Tehran, Sanandaj, Aak, Isfahan, Karaj, Mashhad, Hamedan and Javanrud.

Moreover, the students gathered and protested on at least 17 universities campus. The students chanted slogans against the regime, such as “We will fight, We will take Iran back,” “Student! Shout out for your rights,” “Death to the dictator,” and “They took Nika and gave back her body” (referring to Nika Shakarami, a teenage girl who was killed by the security forces during the protest).”

In Tehran, Mashhad and Sanandaj, bloody street clashes erupted between the protestors and the police. In some videos, sounds of gunshots are heard.

In several cities, including Tehran, Shiraz, Marivan, Bukan, Sanandaj and Saqqez, traders and shopkeepers went on strike and closed their shops in protest.

Iran-State TV broadcasted more coerced confessions extracted from people arrested during the protest.

So far, thousands of protestors have been arrested, and the number is increasing daily. On Saturday alone, HRANA identified 26 arrests.

HRANA has identified more than 200 people killed during the protests. HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, is still working on fact-checking and reviewing the reports independently.

Below is the compilation of the videos from the protests on Saturday, October 8.

Nationwide Protests in Iran Continue on Day Sixteen

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Freedom of Expression, News
Arak, Babol, Bukan, Dehgolan, Isfahan, Karaj, Mahsa Amini, Mashhad, Molavi Abdul Hamid, Rasht, Shahin-Shahr, Shahrekord, Shiraz, Tehran, Zahedan

On October 1, 2022, despite the heavy presence of riot police and plainclothes security agents, Iranian people held demonstrations in many cities including Mashhad, Rasht, Dehgolan, Isfahan, Shiraz, Tehran, Shahrekord, Shahin Shahr, Arak, Bukan, Babol, Karaj. Moreover, on at least 27 universities campus, the students held protests. These protests continued in Tehran, Isfahan, Bushehr and at least 25 universities on the following day, October 2.

The map below shows the geographical distribution of protests across Iran during the last 48 hours.

In most cases, peaceful student protests turned violent by the police as dozens of students were arrested by the security forces. On the University of Isfahan campus, the security agents or the police fired tear gas at the crowd of protesting students.

Last night, the police and security forces surrounded the Sharif University of Technology, chasing and arresting violently the students who left the campus. The police fired tear gas and pellet guns, leading to several students’ injuries. 

According to Iran’s Student Union, several protesting students were trapped in a university building by university security agents and then arrested by the police.

The students chanted slogans such as “Death to the dictator”, “don’t call it protests, it is now a revolution”, and “jailed students should be freed.” They also chanted slogans against the Supreme Leader, Khamenei.

On October 2, in Isfahan and Piranshahr, traders and shopkeepers joined the general strike and closed their shops.

Meanwhile, in recent days, the record-breaking hashtag Mahsa Amini (مهسا_امینی#) reached over 200 million times on Twitter.

Like the previous days, most parts of the country, especially Kurdistan, faced internet and mobile phone disruptions and outages.

Last Friday, September 30, in Zahedan, in Sistan and Baluchistan province, the security forces opened fire at the crowd of protestors coming from the Friday prayer. According to Iranian Sunni cleric Molavi Abdul Hamid, at least 40 people were killed in this incident.

The number of people arrested is increasing day on day. HRANA identified 31 arrests alone for yesterday.

Kurdistan police chief claimed that more than 150 people arrested during the “unrest” have been released.

It is estimated that 30 to 40 students at the Sharif University of Technology were arrested.

Anti-riot police and security forces use live ammunition against the protestors. HRANA has identified 150 death tolls, of which some have been verified by HRANA after fact-checking.

Below is the compilation of the videos from the protests in the past 24 hours.

Nationwide Protests in Iran Continues on Day Nine

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Freedom of Expression, News
Amol, Babol, Fardis, Fuman, Isfahan, Karaj, Mahsa Amini, Nowshahr, Qaen, Sabzevar, Sanandaj, Shahin-Shahr, Shahr-e-Rey, Shiraz, Tabriz, Tehran, Zahedan

On September 25, the nationwide protests continued nine days after the death of Mahsa Amini. Demonstrations continued in at least 19 cities and universities, as the number of arrests and the individuals injured or killed increased. There were disruptions and outages in internet and phone services and social media was filtered. 

On September 24,25, 2022, despite the heavy presence of riot police and plainclothes security agents, people held demonstrations in many cities, including Shahin-Shahr, Karaj, Shiraz, Amol, Babol, Sanandaj, Tehran, Fardis, Isfahan, Tabriz, Zahedan, Fuman, Sabzevar, Qaen, Shahr-e-Rey, and Nowshahr. 

The Sharif University of Technology and the University of Tehran students held protests on campus, chanting slogans  such as “Death to the dictator”, “Jailed student should be freed”, and “We will fight, we will die, but we will take back Iran.”

The two maps below show the geographical distribution and concentrations of the protests until the seventh day of protests. 

On September 25, the Coordination Council of the Iranian Teachers Trade Association issued a statement asking teachers and students all over Iran to join the general strike.

 It is estimated that many individuals have been arrested, as 450 arrests were reported only in the city of Sari. However, HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, is still working on fact-checking and reviewing the reports independently. HRANA has identified and verified 48 individuals arrested so far.

There were also reports of several individuals killed as a result of the brutality of the security apparatus. The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported 41 deaths, of which HRANA has identified 38.

The map below shows the distribution of the death toll as of the seventh day of protests.

Below is a compilation of the videos gathered on the eighth and ninth days of protests in Iran.

Report: Prisoners’ Families Demonstrate as Executions Surge

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Executions, News
Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, Death Penalty, DontExecute, HRANA, Karaj, Prisoners' Families, Qisas, Tehran, UN Special Rapporteur

Since May 2022, the number of executions, especially of prisoners convicted of drug-related crimes has significantly increased. Since the judiciary carries out the executions without prior notice, the new wave has raised concerns among the prisoners’ families, who organized protests in Tehran and Karaj during the past six days. Although the protests have been peaceful, the police have arrested several individuals.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, from May 22 to June 21, the number of executions spiked to 99 cases, four times more than the months before. Executions have remained at this high rate since, causing panic among death row prisoners and their families.

During this period, half of the executed inmates had been convicted of drug-related offences. Unlike murder cases in which the convict is at the mercy of the victim’s family for judgment, the execution of inmates convicted of drug-related crimes is decided by the judicial authorities’ decision.

The families have been gathering peacefully for six consecutive days in Tehran and Karaj. On September 11, the protest turned violent and 30 people were arrested, of which eight currently are kept in detention.

As the figure below illustrates, the judicial authorities have not been transparent as only 39% of the executions have been reported by official sources and media outlets inside Iran so far.

From March 21, 2022 (the beginning of the Iranian year) to September 11, 2022, the Judicial authorities have executed a total of 306 people, including 267 men, 30 women and 30 gender-unspecified individuals. Four of these individuals were under the age of 18 at the time of the arrest. One Pakistani and one Afghan National are among these individuals.

The figure below illustrates the breakdown of executions by capital offence.

Of these convictions, 151 people had been convicted of murder (Qisas or reprisal), 130 of drug-related crimes, 12 of rape, and two of security charges. The charges against 11 individuals remain unknown.

Geographically, 56 executions have been carried out in Sistan and Baluchestan Province. Fars Province ranks second with 28 executions.

In the above-mentioned period, the authorities have sentenced 42 defendants to the death penalty.

One prisoner’s spouse expressed to HRANA that the number of executions has increased exponentially in recent weeks and the prisoners live in fear of imminent execution. 

A prisoner who is currently on furlough said the prisoners are fearful and worried about the prospects of speedy Judgements. 

According to the head of State prisons and the Security and Corrective Measures Organization, 45% of prisoners in Iran are jailed for drug-related offences.

Since under international law, drug smuggling does not fall into the category of violent crimes,  the government has been criticized by the Human Rights Organization and the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran for the execution of drug-related offenders.

In 2017, the former prosecutor of Tehran, Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi, announced the reform in drug-related crime laws and promised the reduction of the death sentences and executions. According to the recent report from the Statistics and Publication Center of the Human Rights Activists in Iran (SPC-HRA), drug-related executions have been reduced, but the number of recent executions is alarming. 

According to the SPC-HRA report, between January 1, 2021, and December 20 2021, at least 299 individuals, including four juvenile offenders were executed. 85 others were sentenced to death. 

The video reportage is a compilation of  26 videos of recent protests.

Student Activist Leila Hosseinzadeh Arrested in Tehran

Posted on by A MN
Freedom of Expression, News
Gonabadi Dervish, Leila Hosseinzadeh, Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam, Tehran

On August 20, 2022, security forces arrested student activist and former political prisoner Leila Hosseinzadeh in Tehran and transferred her to an unidentified location.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, on August 20, 2022, student activist Leila Hosseinzadeh was arrested in front of her house in Tehran.

The reason for this arrest and her whereabouts are unknown so far.  

In February 2021, the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Hosseinzadeh to five years in prison and a two-year ban on online social activity on the charge of “assembly and collusion to act against national security.”  Her attendance at the birthday ceremony of imprisoned Gonabadi Dervish, Mohammad Sharifi Moghaddam, was presented during the trial as evidence to substantiate the charges. The verdict was upheld on appeal.

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HRANA’s Daily Review of Protests in Iran

Posted on by A MN
Labor and Guilds, News
ahvaz, Arak, Aram Pars company, Bazoft, Dezful, Iranian pensioners, Isfahan, ocial Security Organization, Shush, Shushtar, Tehran

On Tuesday, August 9, at least 10 protests took place in Iran.

The pensioners of the Social Security Organization took to the streets again and rallied in Ahvaz, Shush, Arak, Shushtar, Dezful, Tehran and Isfahan. They asked to free imprisoned pensioners and levelling up pensions in accordance with Supreme Labor Council’s enactment.

A number of residents of Bazoft, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, gathered before the district governor’s office to protest against the local authorities’ inattention to address the pollution of drinking water. They hanged bottles of polluted water to the entrance door of the district governor’s office.

The workers of the Aram Pars Company working in the petrochemical industry went on strike in protest against delayed wages.

A number of workers of a contractor company working in Mashhad’s Power Plant gathered before the company entrance to ask for wages.

 

Student Activist Hasti Amiri Imprisoned

Posted on by A MN
News, Students
Allameh Tabatabai University, Hasti Amiri, Tehran

On July 31, Hasti Amiri, the law student at Allameh Tabataba’i University, was arrested and taken to Evin Prison to serve her one-year sentence.

According to HRANA, the news agency of Human Rights Activists, security forces arrested Hasti Amiri at her house in Tehran and took her to Evin Prison for sentencing. 

In March of this year, Branch 26 of the Revolutionary Court of Tehran sentenced Amiri to one year in prison on the charge of “propaganda against the regime”. She was also prohibited from membership in political and civil rights groups, and activities on the internet, and banned from attending student gatherings for two years. The Court of Appeals upheld this verdict.

According to her lawyer, Amir Raisian, a published photo showing Amiri in a student gathering for the celebration of Women’s Day in March, as well as her statements on social media against capital punishment was presented in the trial as evidence.

HRANA’s Daily Review of Protests in Iran

Posted on by A MN
Labor and Guilds, News
ahvaz, Ahvaz National Steel Industrial Group workers, Bojnurd, Darugar, Iranian Pension, Isfahan, Karaj, Kermanshah, Rasht, Sanandaj, Shahrekord, Tabriz, Tehran, Telecommunication Company, Urmia

On Sunday, July 31, at least 16 protests took place in Iran.

In Tehran, Kermanshah, Shahrekord, Karaj, Tabriz, Urmia, Isfahan, Ahvaz, Bojnurd, and Sanandaj, the pensioners of the state-owned Iran Telecommunication Company held protests against the non-payment and reduction of their benefits. In Tehran, the police dispersed the protest gathering and several pensioners were arrested.

 

The pensioners of the Social Security Organization continued their protests in front of this organization in Rasht and Kermanshah.

In Ahvaz, the pensioners held a protest together with Ahvaz National Steel Industrial Group workers and the nurses of a hospital in front of the Ahvaz Governor-General Building.

 

The workers of the detergent manufacturing company Darugar continued their protests in front of the factory entrance to ask for five-month delayed wages and insurance payments.

 

HRANA’s Daily Review of Protests in Iran

Posted on by A MN
Labor and Guilds, News
Ahvaz National Steel Industrial Group workers, Evin Prison, Tehran

On Wednesday, July 27, for several consecutive days, Ahvaz National Steel Industrial Group workers gathered before the Governor-General’s office to demand levelling up wages and weather payment.

A number of Iran-Iraq war veterans gathered before Evin Prison in Tehran and asked to free the detained veterans. Last Saturday, during their protest before the parliament, several veterans were arrested by security forces.

HRANA’s Daily Review of Protests in Iran

Posted on by A MN
Labor and Guilds, News
Ahvaz Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz National Steel Industrial Group, Bank Maskan, Iran-Iraq war veterans, Iranian Interns, Kish Island, Tehran, zanjan

On Saturday, July 23, at least six protests took place in Iran.

A group of workers of Ahvaz National Steel Industrial Group gathered before a member of the parliament’s office as well as the governor-general’s office to demand levelling up wages and the implementation of the Job Classification Plan.

The residents of a village in Zanjan Province held a protest before the governor-general’s office to protest against a drinking water shortage and the local authorities’ inattention to the water supply.

Ahvaz Jondishapur University of Medical Sciences interns held a protest against the lack of proper amenities before the central building of the university.

A number of Iran-Iraq war veterans gathered before the parliament in Tehran to protest against their poor living conditions.

A group of shopkeepers and merchants in Kish Island held a protest against local authorities’ incompetence in attracting tourists to Kish. One of the protestors said, “Our houses proved to be resistant against earthquake in the recent earthquake, but due to the lack of accurate information in the media, tourists are afraid to come here.”

A number of citizens gathered before Bank Maskan branches in Tehran to protest not receiving their pre-purchased apartments.