Iran vows to 'decisively' deal with protesters
July 17, 2020
Iranian police said they again broke up protests Friday as a crowd was chanting "norm-breaking" slogans. They promised to deal "decisively" with future demonstrations, the security service said in a statement.
People have been talking to the street all week over economic hardships in a movement that echoes the large protests in November 2019 when hundreds of people are believed to have died. Large physical and virtual protests were also arranged in protest of the death sentences upheld for three men involved in the November protests.
Iranians outside of the country used social media to speak out against the sentences, using the hashtag #Don'tExecute.
Journalist and activist Masih Alinejad of US broadcaster Voice of America implored the "international community, celebrities and journalists" to "join the Iranian people."
"If you stay silent, they will ill and execute more people," she said.
Read more: Iran sentences journalist to death for fueling anti-government protests
Alinejad: 'My brother is innocent'
Alinejad wrote on Twitter Wednesday that her brother had been "hurriedly" sentenced to 8 years in prison in light of her online criticism of the regime.
"My brother is innocent and he is taken hostage by the Islamic Republic of Iran to punish me for my activities," she wrote.
A group of UN human rights experts have also called on Iran to overturn the death sentences.
Read more: Why is the Iranian regime wary of Instagram?
Authorities have accused the country's "enemies" of whipping up discontent and warned people to "vigilantly refrain from any gathering that could provide a pretext for the counter-revolutionary movement."
Iran has regularly blamed the United States and Israel for domestic unrest. The country’s economy has been hard-hit over economic sanctions imposed by the US and the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed almost 14,000 people in the country.
ed/sms (AFP, Reuters)