July 25 Demonstrations in 110 Cities Support Iranian Protests

July 25 was a “Global Day of Action for Iran” that saw demonstrations in 110 cities around the world. Thousands marched to express solidarity with the protests in Iran against the fraudulent presidential election June 12 and for basic human rights. The demands put forward July 25 were for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including journalists, students and activists; freedom of speech and assembly; an end to censorship and the exclusion of journalists from the country; an end to the government’s attempts to censor the internet; and a new election for president, to be supervised by the United Nations.

Scattered protests in Iran in apparent recognition of their international support on the 25th were quickly repressed. Iranians have largely stopped the mass protests of last month due to the arrests and beatings instituted by the government. Unknown numbers of people have been killed and disappeared since the protests began after the election. One speaker at the rally in N.Y. said the families who have been given their loved ones bodies are “the lucky ones” compared to those who cannot get any information about their disappeared relatives. But “the lucky ones” are forbidden to hold funerals for their loved ones.

Some 3,000 people have been arrested, not only during protests but also in night-time raids of activists’ and intellectuals’ homes. Many are still imprisoned under what are referred to as “harsh conditions”– such as those in notorious Evin prison, where people are tortured until they swear loyalty to the regime. They are not allowed to have visits from their families or lawyers. (For a list of those imprisoned, killed, injured, etc., see International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.) Read More

Letter of Iranian academics worldwide to UN Secretary General