SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 29 March 2024, Friday |

Students defy Iran protest ultimatum, unrest enters more dangerous phase

Sunday marked the start of voting in Brazil’s divisive presidential runoff between far-right incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and leftist former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

After a presidency that saw one of the deadliest COVID-19 epidemics in the history of the globe and extensive deforestation in the Amazon basin, Bolsonaro has vowed to consolidate a significant rightward tilt in Brazilian politics.

Iranians from all walks of life have been protesting since Amini’s death.

What began as outrage over Amini’s death on Sept. 16 has evolved into one of the toughest challenges to clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution, with some protesters calling for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The top commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards told protesters that Saturday would be their last day of taking to the streets, the harshest warning yet by Iranian authorities.

Nevertheless, videos on social media, unverifiable by Reuters, showed confrontations between students and riot police and Basij forces on Sunday at universities all over Iran.

One video showed a member of Basij forces firing a gun at close range at students protesting at a branch of Azad University in Tehran. Gunshots were also heard in a video shared by rights group HENGAW from protests at the University of Kurdistan in Sanandaj.

Videos from universities in some other cities also showed Basij forces opening fire at students.

Across the country, security forces tried to block students inside university buildings, firing tear gas and beating protesters with sticks. The students, who appeared to be unarmed, pushed back, with some chanting “dishonoured Basij get lost” and “Death to Khamenei”.

    Source:
  • Reuters