Eye on Iran's Protests - January 5, 2023

Horrific reports of detainment, beatings, torture, forced confessions, death sentences, and murder continue to emerge from Iran. Despite the brutal crackdown, however, the Iranian revolutionaries are fighting back against the regime.

Iranian revolutionaries are planning a demonstration in Tehran on January 8 to coincide with the anniversary of Iran’s regime’s downing of airline PS752.

While hospitalized after being beaten by the Islamic Republic’s forces, Majid Shabdini was put under pressure to confess against himself. Under severe torture, Shabdini was charged with murder. He has never accepted this baseless charge.

Fifteen women detained during the protests are participating in a hunger strike in Kachuie Prison in Karaj, west of Tehran, to protest the unjust judicial process, especially denial of access to a lawyer.

Protesters chanted “No to Islam! No to the Koran! My life is only for Iran!” at the 40th day mourning ceremony for Hamed Salahshur in Khuzestan province.

Protesters held up a flag with the lion and the sun, which comes from the era of the Pahlavi monarchy.

Imprisoned student activist Leila Hosseinzadeh was relocated from Adel-Abad Prison in Shiraz to Evin Prison in Tehran. She was beaten during the relocation.

Regime forces abducted 17-year-old Alan Vaisi. His whereabouts are unknown. His 16-year-old cousin, Bahadin Vaisi, was shot and killed by suppression forces during uprisings in Javanroud.

WhatsApp Changes Rules To Help Iranian Protesters | The Telegraph

Iranians will be able to access WhatsApp during government-imposed internet blackouts after the Mark Zuckerberg-owned messaging app announced new changes. The social media service has introduced new proxy support for users around the globe, enabling people to maintain access if their connection is blocked or disrupted.

Mysterious Deaths Of Iranian Prisoners Alarms Families | Iran International

Since protests began, regime agents have arrested nearly 20,000 Iranians during or between rounds of protests. A group of members of the medical community – who called themselves The Physicians' Unity (Etehad Pezeshkan) – has called on international bodies to probe the deaths of the Iranian protesters. Many people are of the opinion that the authorities are intentionally killing the protesters without actually taking responsibility for them to avoid international outcry, including by injecting them with unknown substances in the prison.

Two Iranian Teens Reportedly Sentenced To Death Over Protests | Radio Free Europe

Iran has reportedly sentenced two teenagers to death for "corruption on Earth" and "waging war against God" among other charges often used by the judiciary to help the government quell nationwide unrest. The U.S.-based activist group HRANA quoted an informed source on January 4 as saying that the Revolutionary Court in the northern city of Sari handed down a death penalty to 18-year-old Arshia Takdastan, basing its verdict on an accusation that he threw a drinking bottle and a stone at a police car during a protest in the city of Nowshahr in September.  

The Farda Briefing: The Iranian Cleric Defying The Clerical Regime | Radio Free Europe 

Iran's top Sunni cleric, Molavi Abdolhamid, denounced the deadly government crackdown on months-long anti-establishment protests during a December 30 sermon in Sistan-Baluchistan Province. The outspoken cleric said Iranians want "freedom and justice," saying demonstrators were protesting against "discrimination, corruption, and lack of freedom." Abdolhamid also criticized the repression of Iran's ethnic and religious minorities, including Bahais, who have faced systematic persecution in the Shia-majority nation.