Iran Continues Repression Campaign Amid Concerns About Detainees’ Fate

Iran

December 30th, 2:42pm

London, Tehran- Asharq Al-Awsat

Police forces confront protesters who stormed central Tehran’s streets last November against the decision to increase gasoline prices (Mehr)

Security services in Iran continue their arrest campaigns across the country in light of the protests against increased fuel prices. Meanwhile, concerns grow over the fate of detainees in the recent protests. According to the Iranian Police website, Chief of Qom Province Police Brigadier General Abdolreza Aghajani said 14 people were arrested on charges of “promoting Shah’s rule.” It said the detainees are members of a group active in Qom, which is the stronghold of the conservatives and the regime base. Aghajani accused the detainees of “contacting leaders of the Shah's regime abroad and engaging in organizational work within five active branches- each having 30 members.” He said they had attempted to disrupt public and commercial transport, incite labor strikes, and infiltrate trade unions “In connection with Phoenix Project and under the direct protection of Iran’s enemies, they were trying to incite unrest all over the country,” he claimed. The founders of Phoenix Project of Iran (PPI) was launched by the exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi on February 22, 2019, the anniversary of a coup that put an end to the rule of Qajar dynasty and brought his grandfather, Reza Shah, to power. Founders of the project say Phoenix is not a political organization. The mission statement of the organization says it aims to “build bridges with Iranians inside Iran and across the globe” and “empower Iranians by offering them tools and knowledge to measure and assess the performance of policies.” Mizan news agency quoted West Tehran Police Chief Mohsen Khancharli as saying that his forces had arrested eight in connection with the protests. Detainees face charges of “inciting to participate in the riots” in Islamshahr and Shahriar cities, west of Tehran, by establishing a group on Telegram that includes 300 people who are also active on Instagram. Iran still has not released any official statistics on the number of detainees and those killed in the ongoing protests for six weeks now. The country’s official news agency, IRNA, reported on Saturday that the police has arrested a person in Kazerun city near Shiraz on charges of burning a seminary and 11 banks during the protests.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2058841/iran-continues-repression-campaign-amid-concerns-about-detainees%E2%80%99-fate