Hundreds of Iranians have gathered in Tehran, Tabriz, Isfahan, Piranshahr, Mahabad and other cities across the country for the 34th straight night of anti-government rallies and chanted slogans against Iran’s spiritual rulers.
Other arrests followed in a crackdown by the security forces that killed at least 215 people, according to a human rights organization.
In one of the boldest challenges to the clerical establishment since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, protesters have voiced their grief over social restrictions, political repression and the decimated economy.
The outburst of public anger was sparked by the death in hospital of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 16, three days after her arrest for allegedly wearing a hijab or headscarf inappropriately.
**
Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince of Iran, on Thursday October 28 called on the people of the country to unite and engage in civil disobedience actions, particularly strikes.
During a press conference in Washington, IranWire asked Pahlavi if he was in contact with opposition groups and others in Iran. He said that Iran’s exiled elites and foreign groups were looking for ways to support the forces of change in the country.
Pahlavi’s father, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ruled Iran until the 1979 revolution.
More activists jailed, prisoners pressured
In the southwestern province of Khuzestan, civil rights activists announced the arrest of a large number of activists, poets and journalists in the cities of Ahvaz and Abadan on Wednesday evening, October 27.
According to IranWire, security agents stormed the home of Saeed Helichi in Ahvaz, arrested the poet and translator and took him to an undisclosed location. Some of his personal belongings were also confiscated.
Security forces also arrested Aydin Jafari, a resident of the city of Pars Abad in northwestern Ardabil province, and took him to an unknown location.
The day before his arrest, he was summoned by the Suabad Border Police Station in the city, which is illegal as a summons can only be issued by judicial authorities.
Meanwhile, photographer and political prisoner Aaliya Matalzadeh was transferred from Tehran’s Evin prison to the hospital for her “deteriorating condition,” her daughter wrote in a tweet.
She added that another inmate, human rights activist Narges Mohammadi, is also “not doing well”.
No information was available on social activist Mehdi Safaei as a major fire broke out in Evin prison over the weekend following reports of an uprising. Safaei was arrested and beaten during a raid by the armed forces on his father’s house last week.
According to information provided by IranWire, the authorities have increased pressure on Hossein Razzaq, a media activist detained in Evin prison, and his family. The latest measures imposed on Razzaq include a ban on face-to-face meetings and an order to delete his personal Instagram account, which has nearly 58,300 followers. Security forces have also made threats against his family in recent days.
Soran Azizi, a student from Javanroud city in Kermanshah province, was detained by security forces for about two weeks and taken to an undisclosed location, the Coordinating Council of Cultural Organizations in the Country said on Friday.
Ali Jalili, the principal of Muzafar Brothers High School in Tehran’s 4th district, died of a stroke after being summoned to the Ministry of Education Information and Protection several times.
The fate of Zahra Karimi, a blogger and Urmia resident, is still unknown a month after her arrest.
Physicians demand accountability
A group of medics in Mashhad protested the violent treatment of protesters by security forces, the presence of security forces in hospitals and the use of ambulances to repress protesters.
One of them said that the era of “eat, take and kill” is over and that Iranian officials should be held accountable and accountable for their actions.
A number of Azerbaijani writers, journalists and political activists outside Iran expressed their support for a planned rally in Berlin on Saturday October 22nd. The demonstration is intended to show their support for the popular protests in Iran.
“We, as part of the community of Azerbaijanis living in Europe, regard the Berlin protest rally as a symbol of a new beginning for a democratic and equal Iran and as a stage for dialogue between all ethnic groups, genders and multiple strata of Iranian society,” they said in a statement .
“Fars, Kurds, Arabs, Baloch, Turkmen, Lor, Gilaki and Mazani stand side by side in the frontline of the fight against oppression, discrimination and inequality, and this time they will die until freedom and equality are fully restored. ”
Meanwhile, judicial officials shut down an Azerbaijani dance school in Khoy after young students took part in the recording of a video clip in Azerbaijani.
In a statement by IranWire, a group of Iranian law professors said Mahsa Amini’s “questionable and fatal death…breaks our hearts.”
“The tragic death of Mahsa at the age of 22 while in custody has not only made more visible the abuse of anti-liberty laws and their improper implementation, but has also swamped the patience of fair and righteous observers […]”, the statement said.
The truck drivers’ union announced that its members are joining a strike initiated by other professions such as craftsmen, marketers and teachers.
Climber Rekabi “I’m sorry”
Iran’s sports minister has claimed climber Elnaz Rekabi “regretted” appearing without a headscarf at an international competition on Sunday.
“She explained to me that she forgot her hijab during her competition due to stress and that she was very sorry. She said she was ashamed,” Hamid Sajjadi told reporters on Thursday.
Rekabi was interrogated by two of Iran’s political and sporting institutions when she arrived in Tehran the day before.
