Another Iranian Protester Dies After Being Released From Jail

The activist account, '1500 Tasvir' which runs popular Instagram and Twitter accounts, started uploading the images on Saturday, asking its followers to temporarily unfollow or mute notifications of the channel if they cannot tolerate viewing such acts of brutality.

“This page is going to publish 'very painful’ content to be recorded in history," the account said, adding that the photos and videos are gathered from all over the country.

It did not provide names, dates or locations for the photos, which mainly are from injuries that protesters sustained from shotgun pellets as well as bruises and fractures caused after being beaten by the security forces. Most of the photos and videos are so graphic that cannot be republished by Iran International.

Although some of the photos and videos were deleted by twitter, the remaining ones are enough to see a pattern of the regime’s systematic targeting of faces and genitals of the demonstrators.

In addition to photos and videos of the injuries, the batch includes dozens of x-ray images and CT scans of pellets and slugs in the head, neck, chest and legs of the protestors. The Islamic Republic has killed many protesters with rubber bullets and metal pellets and blinded so many others.

The regime’s security forces have been extensively using cartridges of shotshell loaded with numerous small balls or birdshots, or medium-sized buckshots as well as single large solid projectiles known as a slug to quash the nationwide protests, ignited by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in September 2022.

Late in November 2022, dozens of ophthalmologists issued a joint letter warning against the use of shotgun ‘birdshots’ and other projectiles by Iran’s security forces that have blinded over 500 protesters since mid-September. According to them, a large number of victims were taken to medical centers hit by rubber bullets and metal pellets as well as paintball bullets in their eyes, leading to loss of eyesight in one or both eyes.

In an article on November 19, The New York Times cited ophthalmologists of three hospitals in the capital Tehran – namely Farabi, Rasoul Akram and Labbafinezhad -- and several doctors in Kordestan province, as saying that about 580 protesters suffered serious eye injuries during the regime’s crackdown.

The Islamic Republic, which had been previously condemned for blinding protesters in the streets, intensified the use of guns, including military weapons against unarmed protesters. However, young Iranians who lost one or both eyes say they do not regret having protested against the regime.

Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi, Canada-based activist Hamed Esmaeilion, whose daughter and wife were killed in the shooting down of Flight PS752 by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in 2020, as well as US-based, journalist and women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad, actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi and Secretary General of Komala Iranian Kurdish party Abdullah Mohtadi held a panel in Toronto, Canada, on Saturday to discuss Iran's democracy movement. 

They also delivered speeches during the street events held on the sidelines of the meeting, titled “Unity; A Bridge To Freedom.”

The group, which calls itself the Alliance for Democracy and Freedom in Iran, announced its existence in a February event at Georgetown University's Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS) -- titled ‘The Future of Iran’s Democracy Movement' and issued a Charter of Solidarity and Alliance for Freedom (Mahsa Charter) earlier in March. 

Defending the contents of the Mahsa Charter, Mohtadi talked about “the spirit of pluralism” as a necessity to overthrow the Islamic Republic. He pointed out that the charter is based on minimum common grounds to defend the rights of minorities and ethnic groups, which paves the way for a transition from the Islamic Republic. He noted that the united opposition is trying to have a coalition as inclusive as possible. 

Prince Pahlavi reiterated his ideas for a democratic Iran, stressing the need for joint efforts to hold a free election in the country. "The first rule of the democratic system is to respect the ballot box,” he said. 

"I firmly believe in the power of the people. Let us not underestimate the power of public opinion, because it creates the necessary motivation to feel responsible and accountable," the exiled prince said.

He said the Iranians inside the country as well as the expatriates should prove to the world that the overthrow of the regime would not leave a power vacuum in the country. “Iran will not become Syria, because we have so many capable and efficient experts inside and outside the country."

He also talked about supporting the labor strikes as the most important factor to put pressure on the regime from inside Iran, adding that experts are examining ways to create a fund to support strikes and create channels to transfer money to the striking workers.

During his speech to a crowd of Iranians who had gathered outside the venue, Pahlavi greeted Nowruz – the Persian new year that started on March 21 – expressing hope that the next Nowruz celebrations would be held in Iran, free of the regime. "We hope this will be the last Nowruz in exile and we Iranians can celebrate freedom in our own country."

Alinejad, who is known for her frank and practical views about the regime, also defended the Mahsa Charter, acknowledging that a lot of people criticized its content for some phrases that seemed not to reaffirm the territorial integrity of Iran. Emphasizing that "the most separatist person" in Iran is Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, she said, "We have gathered together based on the minimums and we are at the beginning of a union to show a more pluralistic face of Iran."

"None of the members of the Alliance for Democracy and Freedom in Iran claim a 100-percent agreement, but we understand the power of solidarity," she said, accusing the Islamic Republic of sowing discord among the opposition to ensure its survival. "Islamic Republic has survived by separating us and turning us into wandering islands,” she added, noting that the regime has labeled Kurds and Baluchis of separatism, but Kordestan and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces have become symbols of unity representing the voice of the Iranian nation. 

Esmaeilion talked about mechanisms to contact representatives of other groups and ethnicities in the united opposition front, highlighting that “this revolution will bear fruit with unity and hope.” "There is no room for despair,” he noted. 

Boniadi addressed the artists and celebrities who have stood against the regime, saying that “you are our role model; we are with you, and we fight for you."

General Hassan Karami told Entekhab News on March 25, that the special forces are preparing to simultaneously confront unrest at 400 locations.

The protests that started in September 2022 raged in more than 100 Iranian cities for over five months before they receded in February, although protests in some regions and chanting from rooftops still continue and pockets of street protests have also been observed.

In Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchistan Province protests have taken place every Friday since September. Hundreds have been reportedly killed or wounded during the protests over the past six months.

Gen. Karami called the ‘Woman, life, freedom’ protests “Super Sedition” and claimed that his forces have overcome the unrest “successfully.” Using military terms for treatment of civil disobedience, Karami said: “We have grounded the enemy and its human resources and media backing it and badly defeated them.”

Since the start of the protests Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and military commanders attributed the protests to “conspiracies” hatched by foreign powers and media.

The special force of the Iranian police was only one of the units the government used to suppress the protests. Karami characterized it as “A specialized force with unique capabilities.” He said: “We designed our operations based on the location and nature of threats.” Karami also boasted that most of the equipment used by the special forces are made in Iran.

During the protests, apart from improvised vans that were turned into anti-riot vehicles, all the weapons, including shotguns used to blind the protesters were imported from other countries.

Although Karami’s remarks reveal the Iranian regime fears a new round of nationwide protests in the spring, Interior Minister Ahmadi Vahid who is the highest-ranking officer in charge of the police said in remarks about the protests: “We had to face some problems and nuisance in the past year but we cannot say that it was a tough year.”

He said that the National Security Council under his supervision was tasked with dealing with the protest, and we accomplished this mission successfully.” Ironically, Vahidi did his best to avoid the word “protest” and referred to it as "this matter” or “the nuisance.” He also said that “It was a problem the Islamic Republic’s enemies had created.”

Vahidi said that the protests did not distract Iranian officials from focusing on what they needed to do for the country. What he said is in contrast with remarks by many Iranian politicians including members of the parliament who have been constantly criticizing the government for its inaction in the face of the country's most serious economic crisis in modern history and for failing to solve Iran's foreign policy problems.

During the past months, observers have warned the government that popular discontent persists "like a fire under the ashes" and that protests might erupt at any moment with small events that can ignite big upheavals. Even Khamenei's top military adviser former IRGC Commander Yahya Rahim Safavi has warned him that protests might reoccur if the officials do not stand by the promises they have made to the nation.

Other Iranian observers such as reformist commentator and political activist Hamid Reza Jalaeipour have warned that : "Iran has not yet entered a revolutionary situation, but if the current unrest continues, the country will move toward a revolutionary phase."

The article by journalist Davoud Heshmati in Shargh said Raisi was too optimistic toward the loose coalition among conservative groups that formed his government and took over the parliament. In fact, popular protests may have delayed the activation of fault-lines within the government and preserved its unity. "The coalition was too fragile," Heshmati wrote.

"Despite the delay, in its emergence, the political deadlock is quite visible. The government is incapable of making decisions and this makes next year's developments interesting," he said.

According to the author, "the Iranian society is alive, but Iranian politics is in coma." The Iranian society is anything but "indifferent." Everyone thought the youth were apolitical, but they managed to create a great movement in the streets even without a leadership and organization. What brought them together was the demands for freedom in choosing their lifestyle.

The protests that erupted last September after the death of a young woman in police custody over her ‘inadequate hijab’, was led by teenagers and young people, especially women.

Another issue Heshmati pointed out was that the Iranians had already lost hope in elections after former president Hassan Rouhani refused to or was unable to address the issue of democracy and representation and instead dedicated his efforts to resolving the nuclear issue with the West, only to be blocked by hardliners.

Heshmati wrote that part of the reason hardliners took over the parliament in 2020 and the presidency in 2021, was the people's disillusionment about the possibility of change and reform after eight years of a centrist president. The majority simply did not turn out to vote, giving hardliners the victory.

As a result, Heshmati argued, political action that should have happened during elections spilled to the streets where activists with little or no political background took the lead. Now, they have returned to their homes, tired and battered. The government in Iran is adamant not to recognize their movement and the opposition outside the country can only radicalize the movement and work hard to advocate the demand for regime change.

This has led to a situation in which the society is in an unpleasant political state and the government has lost its capacity to handle the economic crisis because of the impact of the protests and rivalries that are tearing apart the political system.

As a way out of this situation, Heshmati suggested that the regime needs to restore the people's trust in the political system by attaching importance to the ballot box in the parliamentary elections in 2024 and by encouraging everyone to take part by promising representation and allowing political parties to become active.

Meanwhile, both the protesters who took to the streets for months and politicians in Iran maintain that"Iranians no longer believe in the reformist-conservative dichotomy," and they are unlikely to settle for stage-managed elections that would bring the same old useless politicians to the parliament.

In the absence of rigorous street protests, people who chant slogans from their rooftops or out of their windows every night make it known that their demands are beyond what reformists and conservatives tolerated by the regime can claim to meet.

Meanwhile, like many other politicians and analysts during the past months, an article in Donya-e Eqtesad (Economic World) pointed out that Iran's domestic problems are unlikely to be solved without addressing key foreign policy issues most markedly the nuclear issue.

Ahmad Vahidi, who is an IRGC general, told ILNA news agency on Saturday that “the enemies try to prevent us from dealing with the basic issues by creating marginal problems. In no way, neither our officials nor our beloved nation should pay attention to these sidetracks.”

Using the term “enemies” is a favorite of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to refer to the United States, Israel, US allies in the region and in Europe.

Following Khamenei’s lead, Iranian officials claim that the ongoing antigovernment protests across Iran were instigated by foreign enemies and protesters are often accused of endangering national security.

The interior minister's claim that the regime faced "marginal issues" contradict the extent and duration of the nationwide protests that were unprecedented since the establishment of the Islamic regime in 1979.

According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) over 500 people have been killed during anti-government protests in Iran since September.

Among the dead are tens of minors and security forces, the agency reported. Nearly 20,000 people had also been arrested and four have been executed. Protests were triggered by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, an Iranian Kurdish woman who was arrested by morality police for allegedly not complying with Islamic dress codes.