Eye on Iran's Protests - October 16, 2022

A protest movement is sweeping Iran in the aftermath of the killing of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the so-called “morality police.” UANI’s Eye on Iran's Protests is a daily news and events round-up to increase awareness of this movement and the regime’s brutal response. Now is the time to support the Iranian people.

Blaze, Shots Heard From Prison In Iran Capital Amid Protests | Associated Press
Entering their fifth week, protests in Iran intensified on Saturday on main streets and at universities in cities across Iran. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) estimated that 233 people have been killed since the protests began – 32 of which are believed to be below the age of 18. Strikes, including in the oil sector, have spread to at least 19 cities. 

Protests, Government Attack On Schoolgirls, Mark Friday In Iran | Iran International
Last Thursday, plainclothes officers raided a girl’s high school in Ardabil – an Azadi-speaking city in northwestern Iran – and injured and arrested multiple schoolchildren. One of the schoolgirls reportedly died from internal bleeding at the hospital. 

End The Protest Bloodshed In Iran | Amnesty International
This Amnesty International petition is collecting signatures in support of “an independent U.N. mechanism to investigate and ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law in Iran.” 

Protesters burned the flag of the Islamic Republic.

A large gathering of unveiled female students at Tehran University chanted, “We don’t want spectators, join us.”

“Freedom, Freedom, Freedom” resounded across Tehran University campus yesterday.

Regime plainclothes officers appeared to open fire on protesters in Karaj, as they forced one of them into the backseat of a car.

Protesters faced off against fully-equipped riot police in Hamadan.

A protester was arrested – his shirt pulled over his head – and hauled away in between two plainclothes officers on a motorcycle.

Journal Contributor Hossein Ronaghi Suffers In Iran | Wall Street Journal Editorial
Iranian blogger and free-speech activist Hossein Ronaghi once wrote in the Wall Street Journal that the Iranian regime is based on “repression, censorship, and violence.” Today, he is detained in Evin Prison after he turned himself in days after escaping his arrest on September 22nd. He told his family from the prison that he is being subjected to torture; he said to his mother that his legs were broken, before the phoneline was cut. His brutal treatment inside the prison was also reported by fellow inmates, one of which said he saw Ronaghi being dragged through the prison with a “visibly broken leg;” another said that he saw him vomiting blood.  

Protesters occupied the streets of Tehran. Burning objects blocked off large sections of the street.

Iran’s Evin Prison caught on fire yesterday. Gunshots, along with residents yelling “Death to the Dictator” from their rooftops, could be heard in the background.

Massive Fire Breaks Out In Iran’s Notorious Evin Prison | Washington Post
According to Iranian state-affiliated news sources, four people from the financial crimes ward died and 61 others were injured in the fire at Evin Prison. Other semiofficial outlets reported that prisoners set fire to the facility amid a chaotic altercation between two prisoners. Other reports suggested that the fire had been planned, as some prisoners had prepared weapons to use against the guards. Evin Prison – which the U.S. has sanctioned for its violations of human rights – is notorious for its use of psychological and physical torture. Sections are controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Ministry of Intelligence. Among the many journalists and political prisoners detained at the facility is the Iranian American businessmen, Siamak Namazi, who was arrested in 2015 on trumped-up charges.  

People massed outside Iran’s Evin Prison after news of the fire spread. The highways leading to the prison were shut down and swamped with honking cars.

Hezbollah, Iraqi Hashd al-Shaabi Helping Iran Quash Protests | Jerusalem Post
Plainclothes men speaking Lebanese-accented Arabic were seen in Tehran attempting to suppress the protests. The accent suggests that these individuals may be from the Iranian-backed Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. They are deployed alongside the national police, the volunteer paramilitary group known as the Basij, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This article also indicates that fighters from Iranian-backed Iraqi militias may also be present to assist the Iranian regime put down the protests. Back in 2009, when the Green Movement exploded in Iran, members of Palestinian terrorist group Hamas were deployed alongside Lebanese Hezbollah.  

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan Met with Iranian-born Activist Nazanin Boniadi.

Readout Of Vice President Harris’s Meeting With Activist Nazanin Boniadi On Iran Protests | The White House
On Friday, Vice President Kamala Harris met with Iranian-born activist and actress Nazanin Boniadi. Among the topics reportedly discussed was how the U.S. could support internet access in Iran and hold Iranian leaders accountable for their brutality against Iranian people. The Vice President expressed her support for the leaders of the protest movement, and commended the Iranian diaspora community for giving a voice to the Iranian protesters. 

Biden ‘Stunned’ By Iranian Protests | CNN
On a visit to Irvine Community College in California on Friday, President Biden expressed his support for the protesters in Iran that are demanding their basic human rights. Speaking about Mahsa Amini’s death, he said, “it stunned me what it awakened in Iran. It’s awakened something that I don’t think will be quieted in a long, long time.” 

Obama Admits Mistake Of Not Supporting Iran Protests In 2009 | Iran International
Speaking on a podcast on Friday, former President Barack Obama described the 2009 protests in Iran known as the Green Movement as a missed opportunity for the U.S. to support the democratic aspirations of the Iranian people. He acknowledged this as he pointed out his failure to “shine a spotlight” on the protest movement and “express some solidarity” with it. 

Americans – many believed to be from the Iranian diaspora – demonstrated in Washington D.C. yesterday in solidarity with the Iranian protesters seeking their basic freedoms in Iran.

Ahead Of Sanctions Meeting, Iran Urges EU Take ‘Realistic Approach’ Over Protests | Agence France-Presse
On Friday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told E.U. foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell on a phone call to adopt a “realistic approach” to Iran. European foreign ministers will meet on Monday in Luxembourg, where they are expected to levy sanctions against Iran for its violations of human rights. Iran’s foreign minister has warned several European diplomats that his country would take “reciprocal action” if the E.U. issued sanctions like the U.S., U.K., and Canada did.

Iran Wire published a sketch titled “The Ayatollah’s Respect for Women.”