The third week of protests in Iran; Massacre in Zahedan, attack on students at Tabriz University and Sharif University
7-October-2022
Category: Freedom of Expression، protesters
October 4, 2022
News group: freedom of speech – protests –
Breathing in Confinement: Nationwide protests of Iranian people continued in the third week after the killing of “Mahsa Amini”, a 22-year-old girl from Saqqez.
The Statistics Center of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran has released information about protests in more than 150 cities in 31 provinces.
With ongoing protests, internet access inside Iran was extremely restricted. NetBlocks, an organization that monitors global access to the Internet, announced the Internet outage in Iran.
The death toll has reached more than 200 people. At least 84 people were killed in Zahedan on Friday. The Statistical Center of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran has only been able to verify the identity of 437 detainees in recent days. However, more than thousands detainees are under torture without their names of their whereabouts being known.
On the other hand, authorities of the Islamic Republic have increased the obtaining of confessions under torture. The videos that were recently broadcast on state TV show the confessions of detainees who are mostly less than 25 years old.
On October 3, a few hours after the security forces invaded, beat, and arrested the students at Sharif University, high school students joined the protests in various cities. In addition, the Coordination Council of Teachers’ Trade Union issued a statement and called the teachers and students to strike.
Students at various universities across the country called for a strike and gathering to be held from Saturday, October 1, 2022, onward. These protests continued despite the attack on the students at Sharif University on Sunday, October 3, and spread to 50 universities.
On Friday, September 30, armed security forces opened fire on the protesting worshipers who were going out of a mosque in Zahedan and responded to their protests with an unprecedented massacre. According to Baloch Activists Campaign, at least 84 Baloch citizens were killed, and 300 men and women were injured in the massacre committed by security forces on black Friday in Zahedan. There is no information about the number of those arrested and their whereabouts.
According to “Breathing in Confinement”, the news organ of the Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran, the protests in Iran continued in the third week despite the extremely violent treatment of the protesters by security forces and their attack on Sharif University students and Zahedan worshippers.
On continuation of nationwide protests, people took to the streets in various cities. Including Sanandaj, Tehran (in areas including Afsarieh, Tehransar, Valiasr and Coca-Cola), Kerman, Mashhad, Ahvaz, Ardabil, Saqqez, Najafabad, Babol, Mashhad, Gohardasht in Karaj, Tabriz, Lahijan, Karaj, Abadan, Rasht, Isfahan. People’s protests in various areas of Tehran continued on the streets and rooftops with slogans against the government. There were clashes with security forces in some areas.
On Saturday, October 1, on the 16th day of nationwide protests, concurrently with the beginning of the academic year, students in at least 50 universities in the country went on strike and sat in the university grounds. The students chanted slogans: “ Woman, Life, Freedom”, “Freedom, freedom, freedom”, “Death to Khamenei because of all these years of crimes”, “Death to the dictator”, “Basij, IRGC your ISIS”, “Death to Khamenei” and “Politics Prisoners should be freed”. Some of these universities were Zanjan; Ferdowsi in Mashhad; Science and Industry; Kharazmi, Karaj Branch; Faculty of Medicine at Beheshti University; Azad University, in Tehran, West Branch; Isfahan Industrial University; Oil, Computer and Chemical Engineering Faculties at Sharif University; Yazd; Shiraz; Pars Art and Architecture; Noshirvani; Azad University of Mashhad; Razi University in Kermanshah; Azad Shahre quds; Bushehr; Shiraz; Faculty of Pharmacy in Mashhad; Faculty of Electrical Engineering; University of Tehran; Tabriz; Art University in Tehran; Medical Sciences of Mashhad; Azad Gohardasht; Medical Sciences in Birjand; Allameh Tabatabai; Bahonar University in Kerman; and Birjand University.
In Tabriz University, security forces attacked protesting students and injured them. A large number of students were also arrested.
In Kurdish cities, in addition to students, most of the shopkeepers and marketers also went on strike in response to the previous call. People went on strike in the cities of Sanandaj, Baneh, Bukan, Mahabad, Sardasht, Naqadeh, Marivan and Zahedan.
On this same day, people in at least 23 cities as well as 21 districts in Tehran took to the streets and started anti-government protests, shouting slogans against the government, and clashed with the security forces. These cities include Karaj, Mashhad, Gohardasht, Shiraz, Isfahan, Bandar Abbas, Babol, Dehgolan, Rasht, Mahabad, Kermanshah, Marivan, Mashhad, Sanandaj, Bukan, Kerman, Shahinshahr, Shahrekord, Shaheswar , Khorramabad, Abadan, Bushehr and Tehran (Enghelab Square, Shariati, Keshavarz Blvd., Poonak, Italiya St., Jamalzadeh, Jumhouri, Kargar, Saadat Abad, Amir Abad, Charsou Passage, Valiasr, Hafte Tir, Naderi, Qaitariya Metro, Tajrish, Pole Sadr, Ashrafi Esfahani, Lalezar, Alaeddin and Theater-e Shahr).
“Death to the dictator”, “Khamenei is a murderer and his government is illegitimate”, “Death to the tyrant, no matter a king or a Mulla”, “Death to Velayat Faqih”, “Death to Khamenei” were among the slogans that people chanted in the streets.
Arrests and beatings of protesters in recent days were accompanied by more violence.
On Sunday, October 2, on the 17th day of nationwide protests, the protests for the 17th day in a row in Tehran and various other cities. For the second day in a row, students went on strike and gathered in 32 universities and colleges. The security forces surrounded Sharif and Science and Industry Universities and prevented students from leaving the university. The attack of plainclothes agents and special forces on the protesting students at Sharif University led to the arrest of at least 50 students and injury of a large number of students. The agents did not allow students to leave the university, and anyone who tried to leave was beaten and arrested. The security forces fired tear gas at the students who wanted to leave in the parking lot of Sharif University and stopped them from leaving.
During the attack on Sharif University, the people of Tehran gathered around the university in the last hours of Sunday and chanted “Free the student”.
Concurrently, people continued their protests in the cities of Kermanshah, Rasht, Khorramabad, Mashhad, Sanandaj, Tehran, Iranshahr, and Isfahan. In these gatherings, the security forces targeted the protesters with shotguns and tear gases.
Female school students in Shiraz protested and burned the pictures of Khomeini and Khamenei in schools. The students took off their scarfs and gathered in the school chanting “Death to the dictator”.
Monday, October 3, on the 18th day of nationwide protests: Tehran people gathered until 2 am in Azadi and Habib Elahi streets leading to Sharif University. Car drivers also accompanied the protests with continuous honking.
Following the attack on the students at Sharif University, more widespread protests took place in various universities. Students gathered and marched in at least 50 universities. They chanted: “The universities have turned to the detention centers and detention centers turned to the universities”, “Death to the dictator”, “You pretend religious but are proud of your crimes”, “This is no longer a protest but the beginning of the revolution”.
Also, on the same day, female schools students in Shiraz, Karaj, Gohardasht, Tehran, and Mashhad protested the arrest of students and the killing of their classmates. They chanted death to the dictator.
In a statement, the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers Unions invited all teachers and students to join the strike and protests. Also, in its statement, on the occasion of October 5, the International Teacher’s Day, the council invited all teachers and students to a nationwide strike.
The statement reads: “Coordinating Council of Iran’s Teachers’ Trade Union declares its firm support and solidarity with the widespread justice-seeking protests across the country.” This year, International Teacher’s Day, October 5th, coincides with a public holiday in Iran, and the Coordinating Council of Teachers’ Trade Unions of Iran asks teachers and students to strike at school and to refrain to sit at classes on Tuesday, October 4th, to show their solidarity and companionship with all those protesting the injustice and corruption.
Nationwide uprisings in Iran started on September 16, in protest to the killing of Mahsa Amini, and rapidly spread to 31 provinces and more than 100 cities.
These protests have received unprecedented and extensive support from foreign citizens in various countries. A large number of foreign celebrities, publishing videos, announced their support for the Iranian people’s protests.
The Prisoners’ Rights League in Iran calls on the international organizations and human rights entities of the United Nations to save the lives of the detained protesters and to put pressure on the Iranian authorities to identify the detained protesters and to start an independent international investigation. The lives of tens of thousands of detainees in Iran are in danger.