Three killed during protests in Iran bring total death toll to 204 since the beginning of demonstrations
The outrage of Iranian society does not cease despite the repression. For yet another day, the people of Iran have taken to the streets to show their discontent with the regime presided over by Ebrahim Raisi. And they are doing so despite the brutal repression which, also on yet another day, has claimed lives. The Kurdistan Human Rights Network has issued a statement saying that "at least three citizens in the cities of Sanandaj and Kermanshah were killed during anti-government protests on Wednesday night by direct fire from Iranian security forces".
The two provinces in western Iran witnessed demonstrations that left Armen Siyadi and Sina Naderi in the city of Dardrej, Kermanshah, and Aziz Moradi in Sanandaj dead. The three protesters were shot by Iranian security forces during the demonstrations, Kurdistan Network and Telegram channel Ain TV reported, bringing the death toll to 204 - 23 of them children - since the outbreak of the protests.
Last night, Tehran pulled out all the stops to prevent precisely what ended up happening. The intense security deployment was insufficient to stop the demonstrations that blocked and set fire to various roads to prevent the passage of Iranian forces. Even Iran's official media reported that "despite the heavy presence of security forces, the streets of some cities, including Tehran, witnessed protests". The capital also hosted protests in various parts of the city such as Sattar Khan, Nazaziabad, Shariati Street and Tehran Pars.
However, the protests do not stop there. Saqez, the hometown of the late Mahsa Amini, who was killed by Iranian police for wearing her veil incorrectly, also saw citizens of the region come out in support of their neighbours in Sanandaj, chanting "Sanandaj is not alone, Saqez supports it", and "Woman, life, freedom". Boukan, in the northwest of the country, also experienced some of the most tense moments when dozens of young people blocked the streets and made bonfires around which they danced while chanting "Death to the dictator".
Wednesday's demonstrations came on the same day that the eight-year prison sentence for Iran's reformist leader Mostafa Tajzadeh, who was arrested in July and whose sentence was confirmed by his lawyer, Houshang Pourbabai, on his Twitter account: "My client Mostafa Tajzadeh was sentenced to five years for conspiring against state security, two years for publishing lies and one year for propaganda against the system". The former minister and former advisor to Mohammad Khatami during the last years of his presidency has decided not to appeal and to serve his sentence in full.
Iran's unstable situation has led some of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's strongmen, such as Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, president of Iran's Supreme Court, to acknowledge that Iran's political system may have "weaknesses and flaws". He has even assured that Iranian society "must know that we have an ear to listen to protests and criticisms, and we are ready for dialogue". This opens up a new possibility, demonstrating that the struggle waged in the streets, though hard and costly for hundreds of victims, is opening up a new context of optimism in Iran.