The Islamic Republic of Iran found itself with many protests on Saturday. Students at universities across Iran demonstrated. Many rallies and demonstrations took place today around the world. Protesters in Tehran took down the signs of streets named “Islamic Republic” and “Palestine”
Demonstrations and strikes in about 100 universities began on Saturday morning in Iran, universities in Tehran, Isfahan, Mashhad and other cities were scenes of strikes. When classes resumed, the students entered the campuses but refused to attend the lectures. Instead, they began to demonstrate.
The students called for a general strike and dozens of professors supported their call and demanded the release of those students who had been arrested so far. A general strike has also begun in Kurdish towns and cities in the west of the country and more street demonstrations are expected during the day and especially in the evening.
At least 19 Sunni Baloch protesters in Zahedan, southeastern Iran were killed on Friday, the death shocked the country and was the first mass killing in one place since the protests began two weeks ago. The protests across Iran began on September 16, when Mehsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman died in hospital after being beaten in custody by Iran’s hijab police for not wearing the full hijab.
Demonstrators in Tehran took down the signs of streets named “Islamic Republic” and “Palestine”, the Iran International TV channel reported.
According to opposition officials, 42 people were killed on Friday throughout Iran. Rallies in support of Iranian protesters were held in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. Iranian diaspora communities and human rights activists launched unprecedented protests in over 150 cities around the world against the Islamic Republic.
The worldwide protests began on Saturday in Australia, New Zealand and East Asia, followed by European cities and cities in the Americas. Many people in Iran and abroad have been holding regular protests since the death of Mehsa Amini, the 22-year-old woman whose killing by hijab police sparked an uprising.
The demonstrators in most cities gathered outside the embassies or consulates of the Islamic Republic or the central squares, while chanting slogans against the Iranian regime, such as “Death to the dictator”, referring to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, and “Women, life, freedom”.
In Australia and New Zealand, many government officials and international human rights activists attended rallies and in some cases gave speeches. At least in three cities in Australia alone, Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne, large demonstrations.
In London, a large crowd of Iranian expatriates gathered around Trafalgar Square to show support for the protests in Iran. “Although we are far from the homeland, you have our backs,” they chanted.
In Edinburgh, Scottish MP and leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats Alexander Geoffrey Cole-Hamilton gave a speech in support of the ongoing protests in Iran. There were also huge demonstrations in the Swedish capital Stockholm and Brussels in Belgium, these cities are home to large communities of Iranians.
During the rallies in Stockholm, Reza Younisi, whose brother Ali is imprisoned in Iran, called for the release of all prisoners of conscience and all those unjustly detained by the Islamic Republic.