Status: 10.08.2022 18:54
The wave of protests in Iran is not abating. In the capital Tehran, anger against the regime erupted again on the streets and in universities. Security forces used violence against the protesters.
A good three weeks after the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini, Iran did not rest. In the capital, Tehran, protesters used Molotov cocktails. According to eyewitnesses, they also threw Molotov cocktails at police and security forces near and in front of Tehran University.
The state news agency IRNA confirmed the Molotov cocktails against public buildings but not against employees. According to the report, protesters again shouted slogans against the Islamic political elite.
Horn concerts for protesters
Clashes also broke out again in front of Sharif University’s elite, he said. The police used tear gas against the protesters. They say the shots were fired.
The clashes led to new traffic jams on some of Tehran’s main roads. Drivers are said to have supported protesters with concerts of horns and shouted slogans critical of the system.
Students to Raisi: “Go away”
President Ebrahim Raisi visited Al-Sahra University in Tehran and spoke again about foreign conspiracy operations against the Islamic Republic. “Even in universities, enemies now want to implement their goals,” said the cleric. But Iranian students and teachers would ensure that all these conspiracies failed, the president said, according to the ISNA news agency.
In a video that circulated on Twitter, students reportedly shouted “Go away” at him. Iran’s supreme spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has previously described the anti-government protests as a foreign conspiracy.
Apparently strikes in four cities
The protests against the Islamic system are now in their fourth week. The Iranian human rights group Hengaw said demonstrations and strikes had erupted in four cities after a call for mass demonstrations. In the Kurdish towns of Sakkes and Sanandaj, security forces fired on protesters and used tear gas.
According to observers, the protests are increasingly taking the form of civil disobedience. Others also speak of a “digital revolution” because recorded videos of protest actions in the country are posted on social networks. Protesters are reaching millions at home and abroad. This strategy makes it difficult for police and security forces to suppress protests.
Civil rights groups: 150 dead
Kurdish Amini was arrested in Tehran on September 13 for allegedly violating rules on wearing a headscarf. She died three days later. There is conflicting information about the circumstances of her death. According to state information, a coroner concluded that Amini had died not from being beaten in police custody, but from a previous illness.
The death of the young Kurd set off a nationwide wave of protests, which have long been directed against the country’s leadership and restrictions on civil liberties in general. According to civil rights groups, the protests killed more than 150 people, injured hundreds and arrested thousands. The Iranian government blames its enemies – including the United States – for the protests. 20 security forces were killed.
Interior ministers discuss deportations
German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said that “in the current disastrous human rights situation” deportations to Iran are irresponsible. She urged federal states to react “as soon as possible”.
His interior ministers will likely deal with the suspension of deportations at their conference. The announcement was made by the president, Interior Minister of Bavaria, Joachim Hermann. With the exception of “serious criminals”, Bavaria has already suspended deportations to Iran by then, he told newspapers from the Funke media group.
Paris advises leaving the country
France, for its part, recommended that its citizens leave Iran as soon as possible. The Paris Foreign Ministry justified its recommendation by saying that French citizens visiting the country are at a high risk of arrest, arbitrary detention and unfair sentences. This also applies to tourists. In the event of detention, respect for fundamental rights and security are not guaranteed.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Berlin also advises against a trip to Iran. For Germans there is a real danger of being “arbitrarily arrested, interrogated and sentenced to long prison terms”, according to the travel and security information on the Internet.