Authoritarianism

( RFE/RL) – Antiestablishment protests have raged across Iran for months, despite a brutal state crackdown in which hundreds of demonstrators have been killed and thousands more detained. Triggered by the death of a young woman died after she was arrested by Iran’s morality police in mid-September, the ongoing nationwide protests have become the longest-running […]

Authoritarianism

Iran Leader Khamenei seems to Back-Pedal from Punishing Women for “Poor Veiling” after Months of Protest

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – According to the official Iranian press, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the “August Leader” of Iran, met Wednesday with hundreds of professional women and spoke about the controversies wracking the country regarding veiling. He stressed that the veiling of women is firmly part of Islamic law and there can be no retreat […]

Authoritarianism

Two Iranian Teens Reportedly Sentenced To Death Over Protests

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Ardeshir Tayebi | – Iran has reportedly sentenced two teenagers to death for “corruption on Earth” and “waging war against God” among other charges often used by the judiciary to help the government quell nationwide unrest sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody. The U.S.-based activist group HRANA quoted […]

Authoritarianism

Clampdown Reported In Iranian Kurdistan After Slain Protesters Mourned

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Ardeshir Tayebi | – ( RFE/RL) – Demonstrators in the western Iranian city of Javanrud were set on by security forces and have reportedly faced a martial-style clampdown since gathering in a local cemetery on December 31 to mark the end of the 40-day mourning period for seven protesters killed by security forces in […]

Authoritarianism

More Iranians Move Their Protests To Rooftops Amid State Crackdown

Frud Bezhan

I’m Frud Bezhan, regional desk editor for Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Here’s what I’ve been following and what I’m watching out for in the days ahead. ( RFE/RL) – Fewer Iranians have protested on the streets in recent days, more than three months after the nationwide antiestablishment demonstrations erupted. From the outset, the authorities responded […]

Authoritarianism

Iran: ‘Bloody Friday’ Crackdown This Year’s Deadliest

Human Rights Watch

Human Rights Watch ) – (Beirut) – Iranian security forces using unlawful lethal force, killed and wounded several dozen protesters in Zahedan on September 30, 2022, killing the most people during the protests on a day being called “Bloody Friday,” Human Rights Watch said today. The newly established United Nations fact-finding mission on Iran should […]

Authoritarianism

Families Of Slain Iranian Protesters Mark End Of Mourning Period With Defiance

Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty

By Ardeshir Tayebi/ Radio Farda | – ( RFE/RL ) – The families of the victims of the recent nationwide protests in Iran have staged protests amid ceremonies marking the 40th day since the death of 10 protesters across the country. With police standing nearby in the southern Iranian city of Shiraz on December 22, […]

Authoritarianism

How Female Iranian Activists use powerful Images to Protest oppressive Policies

The Conversation

By Parichehr Kazemi, PhD Candidate, University of Oregon | – (The Conversation) – Images of unveiled Iranian women and adolescent girls standing atop police cars or flipping off the ayatollah’s picture have become signature demonstrations of dissent in the past few months of protest in Iran. Mass protests in Iran over death of Mahsa Amini […]

Algeria

Why Algeria’s Coup and Civil War Should Alarm Americans about Trumpism, Whether he is Convicted or Not

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Donald Trump’s attempted coup on Jan. 6, for which he has now been referred to the Department of Justice on sedition and other charges by the January 6 Committee of the House, evoked in me a powerful feeling of déjà vu. It reminded me of Algeria 1991. Algeria had been […]