Demonstrations against mullahs continue despite students’ arrests

Robier al-Fares

Student activists in Iran have issued a statement denouncing “the new round of arrests by the mullah regime against students and the issuance of judicial rulings against a number of Iranian students.”

The statement read, “Judgments were issued against three of the detained students from Tehran University in October 2019: Soha Mortezaei (four years in prison), Marjan Eshaghi and Kamyar Zoghi (one year in prison each), under the pretext of solidarity with the popular protests inside the university,” adding, “Parisa Rafiei, another student at Tehran University, is still being held in prison under the pretext of participating in the December 2017 protests, and she was sentenced to 15 months in prison for protesting and exposing the nature of the treatment during her detention period.”

Despite deterrent measures, threats and arrests by the mullah regime, a large number of retirees in Tehran and 21 other Iranian cities organized demonstrations to protest against inflation, unbearable prices and low salaries.

They chanted, “We will not stand idly by until we obtain our rights”, “Only on the street do we get our rights”, “Woe to you at this point of injustice and abuse”, and “Our country is floating on treasure but retirees are in agony”.

Retirees in Tehran, who organized their largest protest gathering in recent months, chanted, “No promise, our tables are empty” and “Ghalibaf, get out of your office! Ghalibaf, get out of your office,” in reference to Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

In addition to Tehran, large numbers of retirees and pensioners covered by the social security system gathered in front of the Social Security Authority in the 20 cities, including Tabriz, Nishapur, Arak, Ahvaz, Kermanshah, Yazd, Khorramabad, Isfahan, Ardabil, Shush, Ilam, Qazvin, Shiraz, Karaj, Mashhad, Sanandaj, Kerman, Bojnurd, Dezful, Zanjan and Hamedan demanded that their demands be met.