Hundreds of detainees and universities closed, but protests continue in Iran

Tehran, (EFE) – The Iranian president, Ebrahim Raisí, called this Saturday to act “decisively”, the universities suspended face-to-face classes and hundreds of people have been arrested, but the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini continued to shake Iran and there are already 35 dead.

Eight days after Amini’s death after being arrested by the Moral Police for wearing the mandatory veil in the country wrong, thousands of Iranians shouted one more day “Women, life, freedom” and “Death to the dictator” in the streets of the Persian country.

The death of the 22-year-old after suffering a heart attack in police custody has galvanized many Iranians beyond social class, ethnicity or gender, unlike other occasions in which the demonstrations were reduced to fragmented social groups mobilized by the economy. .

The authorities do not report the number of deaths, but Iranian state television said today that there are already 35.

As for the number of detainees, there is also no complete official data, but only Guilan province reported the arrest of 736 “rioters”.

Raisí affirmed this Saturday that it is necessary to “act decisively against those who oppose the security and tranquility of the country” and asked that “the protest and the disturbance of public order” be separated.

Back in Tehran after spending the last week in New York, where he participated in the General Assembly of the UNthe president inaugurated today the beginning of the academic year in a school in the capital.

SUSPENSION OF CLASSES IN UNIVERSITIES

However, the main universities in Tehran suspended face-to-face classes this Saturday and opted for “online” teaching, a measure that will be applied throughout this week.

The educational authorities have justified the measure for two holidays this week and the suspension of face-to-face classes was announced yesterday afternoon in most cases.

The change to “online” classes occurs despite the fact that the internet has been heavily restricted in the country for days.

Fixed internet is very slow, while mobile networks are being cut in the afternoons and evenings to control the protests.

The suspension of face-to-face classes is a measure apparently intended to avoid the protests that have taken place in the last week in the capital’s universities.

In vain. The University of Tehran experienced another day of clashes between protesters and security forces, according to videos shared on networks by activists and journalists.

In one of the videos shared by a human rights NGO, security forces are seen beating protesters with batons.

In another a woman receives an electric shock with a taser.

ARRESTS OF JOURNALISTS

Added to the calls by the authorities to tighten the repression of the protests and the closure of universities is the arrest of journalists and activists who were reporting on the ground about what was happening.

The Committee to Protect Journalists has reported the arrest of at least 17 informants in Iran since the protests began.

For its part, the Tehran Journalists Association reported the arrest of 10 members of the media in the region.

“It is necessary to emphasize for the umpteenth time that from a professional point of view, the coverage of protests is no different from the coverage of earthquakes, floods, factory inaugurations or the publication of divorce statistics,” said the capital association, which requested the liberation of his “companions”.

Among those detained is the journalist Nilufar Hamedi, who was among the first to report Amini’s death.

In addition, the well-known activist Hossein Ronaghi, who shared videos and information about the protests on social networks, was also arrested.

On the other hand, the Iranian judicial authorities denied this Saturday that the city of Oshnavieh had fallen into the hands of the “rioters” who were protesting.