In Iran and around the world, people are taking to the streets demanding an end to oppression.
(Photo: AP)
Berlin, Tehran Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has announced sanctions against the perpetrators of repressive measures in view of the ongoing system-critical protests in Iran. “We will ensure that the EU imposes entry bans on those responsible for this brutal repression and freezes their assets in the EU,” said the Greens politician to “Bild am Sonntag”.
Baerbock told the newspaper: “Anyone who beats women and girls on the street, abducts, arbitrarily arrests, sentences to death people who want nothing more than to live freely, is on the wrong side of history.” Roads in Iran to self-determination are “deafening”.
Because of the ongoing system-critical protests, the country’s political leadership came together for a crisis meeting. According to the Office of the President, President Ebrahim Raisi, the Speaker of Parliament and the Head of the Judiciary also attended. In a joint press statement by the President’s Office on Sunday, they called on the people to preserve national unity and stand up to the “hostile conspiracies” of the enemies of the Islamic system.
The protests in the country continued over the weekend. System-critical slogans were briefly read on state television, which apparently went back to hackers. The group Anonymous, which had already hacked various Iranian authorities in the past few weeks, is said to have been responsible for this again.
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The daily newspaper Schargh reported on Sunday that on Saturday evening the news broadcasts on two channels of the state broadcaster IRIB were briefly interrupted and pictures of some of the women who died in the protests were shown. The slogan “Stand up and join us” was shown.
Regime uses violence against protests
According to eyewitnesses, the protests continued on the streets on Sunday night. Accordingly, the willingness to use violence increased significantly on both sides. The police are said to have not only used tear gas against the demonstrators, but also shot them with paintball ammunition. The demonstrators reportedly threw Molotov cocktails at the officers and set mobile police stations on fire.
A young driver was reportedly shot in the head during a demonstration in the western Iranian city of Sanandaj. The police stated that protesters shot him dead, who in turn blamed the police for the death.
The protests against the Islamic system are entering their fourth week. They began after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in mid-September. The security forces also used violence against demonstrators. According to observers, at least dozens of people have been killed in connection with the protests and many more have been injured.
More: The anger of the Iranian women – Can they overthrow the regime of the ayatollahs?