Iran’s Uprising Enters 84th Day: Regime Executes First Protester – OpEd

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Iran’s nationwide uprising is entering its 84th day on Thursday following massive nationwide protests marking the country’s annual Student Day that saw major unrest in Tehran, Mashhad, and dozens of other cities and towns throughout Iran.

Storeowners in at least 80 cities were on strike and dozens of universities and school across the country saw their students boycotting their classes. People throughout Iran were involved in an expansive three-day campaign that included anti-regime protests, rallies, gatherings, demonstrations, and marches.

Protests in Iran have to this day expanded to at least 280 cities. Over 700 people have been killed and more than 30,000 are arrested by the regime’s forces, according to sources of Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The names of 565 killed protesters have been published by the PMOI/MEK.

On Thursday morning storeowners in the cities of Sanandaj in Kurdistan Province, Ravansar in Kermanshah Province, and Najafabad in Isfahan Province took to the streets protesting their local authorities’ decisions to shutter the stores of those who participated in the recent three-day strikes in solidarity with the ongoing Iranian revolution.

In Sanandaj, family and friends were seen gathering in the early morning hours today to bury Hooman Abdullahi, a local killed by regime security forces in the recent protests. The funeral was held under tight security conditions as authorities had dispatched many units to the scene to prevent anti-regime protests. Signs of pellet rounds and broken bones were vivid on his body, according to eyewitnesses.

Iran’s regime said on Thursday it executed 22-year-old Mohsen Shekari, a prisoner convicted for a crime allegedly committed during the ongoing nationwide uprising, the first such death penalty carried out by the mullahs’ so-called judiciary. The regime’s Mizan news agency, affiliated to the judiciary, reported the execution, accusing the man of blocking a street and attacking a security force member with a machete in Tehran.

The execution comes as other detainees also face execution for their involvement in the protests. Activists are warning that others could also be put to death as at least a dozen people so far have received death sentences over their involvement in the demonstrations.

In Arak, a large crowd gathered to mark the 40th day of the murder of Mehrshad Shahidi. Mehrshad was one of hundreds of youth killed in cold blood by security forces. The regime’s oppressive forces attacked the people tried to them from holding their rally. In response, the people resisted the regime’s security forces and chanted slogans against Khamenei and called for the overthrow of the mullahs’ rule. Videos show helicopters flying over Arak to intimidate the people and control the situation.

In response to the brutal execution of Mohsen Shekari, the residents of Tehran’s Sattarkhan district held a large protest rally at night and chanted slogans against the regime and its leader. The protesters marched in the streets despite security measures and shouted, “Death to Khamenei!” “Death to the dictator!” “I will kill those who killed my brother!” and “We don’t want a child-killing regime!”

On Wednesday, reports indicated that locals in Tehran, Karaj, Javanrud, Kermanshah, Marivan, Mahabad, and many other cities and towns were on strike and closing their shops in solidarity with the continuing revolution against the mullahs. Students at various universities of Tehran, Ahvaz, Rasht, and others boycotting their classes throughout the day in solidarity with the national uprising. Iranian regime President Ebrahim Raisi visited Tehran University where he faced protests during his remarks while it was clear only hand-picked individuals were allowed into the session.

Students of Amir Kabir University in Tehran were marking the country’s Student Day by launching protests and chanting anti-regime slogans, including “Death to the dictator!” Despite heavy security measures, the protesting students were able to pass through the lines of campus security and Basij units and reach the school’s main and Hafez gates.

Authorities are going the distance to prevent students from expanding their protests into the city streets where locals can join their ranks and pose serious security threats for the mullahs’ regime. Similar protests are being reported in different universities in the country’s capital, including Khajeh Nasir Toosi University, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran University, Ferdowsi University in the city of Mashhad in northeast Iran, and others.

Reports showed attacks by the regime’s Basij units and campus security in various university against students holding anti-regime rallies marking the country’s Student Day. This included Mashhad’s Ferdowsi University, the capital’s Tehran and Amir Kabir universities, and others.

Students across the country were seen chanting a variety of anti-regime slogans, including “Death to Khamenei!” “Death to the dictator!” “Students will never live in infamy!” They have also been seen chanting “With or without the hijab, we’re headed for a revolution!” in yet another sign from the Iranian people themselves that this movement goes far beyond women’s rights and seeks the overthrow of the regime in its entirety.

Locals in the city of Eslamshahr in Tehran Province launched an attack target a large LED screen used to broadcast regime propaganda.

Iran’s Students Day protests continued into the night on Wednesday. In Tehran, there were protest rallies in several locations, including City Theater Metro Station and Towhid Square. A large crowd headed toward Azadi Square despite heavy security measures by the regime to prevent protest rallies. Protesters continued their rally and chanted anti-regime slogans, including “Death to Khamenei!”

In Ardakan, Yazd province, a large crowd gathered and held protest rallies and clashed with security forces that had been dispatched to prevent rallies. Similar rallies were held in Karaj and Najafabad. In Mashhad, protesters set fire to a regime propaganda billboard.

On Wednesday night, people in various parts of Tehran were seen taking to the streets chanting anti-regime slogans, including “Death to Khamenei!” and “Death to the dictator!”

A massive crowd of people are reported heading towards the capital’s famous Azadi (Freedom) Square to continue their rallies. Authorities were desperately scrambling security forces to the area to prevent any type of anti-regime protest gatherings.

Similar protests are reported in Najafabad in Isfahan Province, and Yazd and Ardakan in Yazd Province.

Iranian opposition coalition NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi hailed the Iranian people for their courageous anti-regime protests on Student Day and storeowners for holding their ground in the face of the regime’s oppressive measures.

“I salute the courageous university students who rose up today across Iran despite brutal attacks and massive arrests by repressive forces. With chants of ‘Death to Khamenei!’ they seek the criminal mullahs’ overthrow,” she said.

“The third day of strike by Iran’s Bazaar merchants and businesspersons in most provinces, in step with the nationwide student protests and nightly protests in various districts of Tehran and other cities, indicate that Iranian people’s strong will shall overcome the ruthless IRGC,” the NCRI President-elect explained.

The protests in Iran began following the death of Mahsa Amini. Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old woman from the city of Saqqez in Kurdistan Province, western Iran, who traveled to Tehran with her family, was arrested on Tuesday, September 13, at the entry of Haqqani Highway by the regime’s so-called “Guidance Patrol” and transferred to the “Moral Security” agency.

She was brutally beaten by the morality police and died of her wounds in a Tehran hospital on September 16. The event triggered protests that quickly spread across Iran and rekindled the people’s desire to overthrow the regime.

Mahmoud Hakamian writes for PMOI/MEK, where this article was published

Mahmoud Hakamian

Mahmoud Hakamian writes for The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), also known as Mujahedin-e-Khalgh (MEK)

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