SAVING IT FOR AN IRAN-Y DAY

In the latest round of repression of protests against the rigged elections in June by the Iranian authorities, security forces beat and arrested dozens in Tehran on Tuesday.
 
This follows Friday’s clashes when the police attacked protesters attending an anti-Ahmadinejad rally with tear gas last Friday. Until last Friday there had been few signs of mass dissent after the brutal crackdown following the election, during which at least thirty protesters were killed. The recent protests represent the first major challenge to the Ahmadinejad regime after it declared gatherings illegal.

Even the Saturday meetings of the ‘Mourning Mothers’, which began four weeks ago in public parks between 7 and 8pm - the day and time at which Neda Agha-Soltan, a young woman, was shot dead on June 20th - have been targeted by security forces. The meetings have seen several arrests, including women’s rights and student activist Zeynab Peyghambarzadeh, who is also a member of the One Million Signatures Campaign, which is demanding an end to discrimination against women in law.

Thousands have been detained during round-ups by the authorities after the elections, including political activists, journalists, academics and lawyers, many of whom are still being held. Lawyer and human rights activist, Shadi Sadr, was violently arrested in Tehran last Friday on her way to prayers. Shadi was walking with a group of women’s rights activists along a busy road when unidentified plain-clothed men beat her with batons before bundling her into a car.

There were international demonstrations last weekend (25th) in solidarity with the Iranian people, including events London, Brighton, Seattle, Toronto and others. 

* See www.iransolidarity.org.uk