Repression and violence do not silence protesters in Iran. Sign that the anger does not fall, for the seconde consecutive night, the Iranians were in the street, Tuesday evening, September 27th. And for the twelfth time, the authorities violently repressed these demonstrations. Since the beginning of the movement, more than 1,200 people have been arrested, dozens have been killed, more than ten days after the death of Masha Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian, who died after her arrest by the police of the manners for violating the dress code.
>> In Iran, protesters keep taking to the streets as ‘the government continues to kill people’
Ali has been on the street for ten days. This young Iranian is one of those who have followed higher education and who look towards the West. In 2009, he was on the streets, opposed to the re-election of the very conservative Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president from 2005 to 2013. At the time, he was already demanding more freedoms. Today, despite the violence, he takes up the slogans against the religious authorities.
“They are furiously suppressing the protest. The main purpose of hitting people like this is to instill fear.”
Ali experienced police repression. One day, “in the demonstration, I heard a loud noisehe says, I ran away, and there they shot me in the arm with rubber bullets“.”The next day they started using live ammunition“, he recalls. And this repression should not calm down. The Iranian police say, Wednesday, September 28, that they will oppose “with all his might“to the protesters.
75 people died in these clashes, according to an NGO in exile. Among them are six wives and four children. Despite this continuing violence, the cries of “down with the dictator“continue to resound at nightfall in the Iranian streets. Cries mingled with Ali’s voice. “We’re struggling with conflicting feelingshe confides. Of course, we are afraid, but we are also hopeful, and we are confident.”
He also calls on the international community to provide concrete support to the Iranian people. “The world must not just stare at us!he says. Please carry the voice of the Iranian people, put pressure on the Islamic Republic and isolate this regime.“For now, Canada is the only country that has announced sanctions against a dozen Iranian officials, as well as against the police of the manners.