Jan 21 2020

Iranians have been staging audacious protests against the government after it admitted to shooting down a Ukrainian airliner, killing all 176 people, having denied responsibility for several days.

Students have broken previous taboos, such as criticizing the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and refusing to walk on Israeli and American flags printed on the pavement – a practice encouraged by the regime.

The latest protests came days after large crowds attended the funeral of Qassem Soleimani, the powerful military leader who was assassinated by the US military on January 5. The government had claimed that the Iranian people were united in grief at the killing, but protesters have since been filmed chanting slogans against Soleimani and ripping posters of his face off walls.

Videos from the protests have gone viral on social media, as the Iranian government has not yet shutdown the internet as it did during protests in November.

1. “IRGC, Basij, you are ISIS!”

One common chant calls out the Iranian regime and compares the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and the associated Basij militia to ISIS, the Sunni terrorist group.

2. “Dictatorial IRGC, you are our ISIS”

Another video shows protesters chanting “Dictatorial IRGC, you are our ISIS,” outside the Sharif University campus in the capital Tehran.

3. “Soleimani is a murderer, and his leader (Khamenei) is also a murderer.”

Other protesters called out slain IRGC commander Soleimani, accusing him of being a murderer. The reference to his leader is an implied reference to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who is rarely criticized in public in Iran.

4. Ripping off Soleimani posters

Another video showed protesters defacing posters of Soleimani’s face.

5. Iranian-Canadian man mourns his family.

Relatives of those killed in the airplane shot down by Iran have been at the forefront of the protests. Here an Iranian-Canadian man who lost his wife accuses the Iranian government of being criminals.

6. Students hold a vigil against police brutality.

Security forces have responded with force. This video shows students, reportedly at the Iran University of Science and Techonology, accusing the regime of attacking them with batons.

7. Tear gas fired.

Riot police also fired tear gas at protesters in Tehran, seen here.

8. Protests from above.

Despite the violence, protesters continue to take to the streets. This video shows the scale of protests near the Amir Kabir University in Tehran.

9. Iranians refusing to step on Israeli and American flags.

With the protests showing no sign of stopping, Iranians have also challenged previous taboos. Here protesters can be seen refusing to stand on the Israeli and American flags – a common practice encouraged by the government to show disrespect to its enemies. Those who did step on the flags were reportedly booed by the crowd.

Source » alarabiya

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