Reporting by PMOI/MEK
Iran, November 9, 2020—As the anniversary of Iran’s nationwide November 2019 uprising approaches, the regime continues to ratchet up repressive measures in various cities to establish an atmosphere of fear to prevent a new wave of protests.
The state-run Young Journalists Club (YJC) news agency quoted the head of the State Security Force (SSF) in Savojbolagh county as saying on Saturday, “Following the plan of clearing areas and improving social security, the plan for clearing criminal areas of thugs was carried out for 24 hours in the Savojbolagh, with the crime police leading the effort and local police cooperating.”
“The effort led to the arrest of 15 people, including three thugs who have disrupted security,” the official added.
In other related news, the regime’s Judiciary carried the inhuman sentence of flogging two young men in Golbahar, Mashhad in order to intensify the atmosphere of repression and intimidation. The incident was reported by YJC on Sunday.
On November 17, the state-run Daneshjoo (student) news agency quoted Saeed Rasti, Head of the Capital Public Security Police Operations Center, announcing the arrest of a “vicious person” near the Yaftabad neighborhood of Tehran.
“Finally, with an intelligence and police work, the suspect’s hideout was identified near Naziabad and officers managed to arrest him by firing several shots while he was fleeing during a police operation,” he added.
Parallel to the repressive measures of the police, the Majlis (parliament) is busy with its own efforts to lay the groundwork for more repression and cause fear in Iran’s increasingly restive society. On Sunday, 53 MPs submitted a plan to draft legislation for increasing punishments.
As reported by the state-run Tabnak, part of this suppressive legislation stresses that those who carry any cold weapons or firearms will face the maximum punishment and their case will be handled even during holidays.
The regime also tries to use the coronavirus pandemic as a pretext for repressive measures and control the society.
The deputy Health Minister Alireza Raisi announced on Saturday a new suppressive plan to be carried out by Basij under the pretext of confronting Covid-19.
“One of the discussions we will hopefully begin on Monday is the issue of neighborhood-centered confrontation with Covid-19 and the involvement of all people, especially we have houses and families as our main focus, and this is a very comprehensive plan with the cooperation of Basij in the neighborhoods to confront the virus,” Raisi added.
Major protests erupted in Iran in November 2019
These measures come on the heel of an increased presence of security officials in media publicizing mass arrests of people they label as “criminals” and “thugs.” The regime has a dark history of using such designations for political dissidents and using it as an excuse to crack down on dissent. The recent execution of political prisoners Navid Afkari and Mostafa Salehi are just two examples. And with the anniversary of the November 2019 protest looming close, the regime is in dire need of such measures.
The regime has also been busy carrying out intimidation campaigns, in which security forces humiliate and beat arrested people in the streets to cause fright among the public and discourage the people from joining protests.
Disturbing –#Iran
Another public display of violence, humiliation, and degradation by masked security forces, parading "troublemakers" across town while beating them on the head and forcing them to "repent" in public.
This disgusting show is a clear violation of human rights. pic.twitter.com/y4pkeeNl34— Iran News Wire (@IranNW) October 7, 2020
Meanwhile, the regime has not been able to prevent the people from taking to the streets on a daily basis. And the regime’s own officials are acknowledging that efforts to prevent protesters to organize on social media have proven futile. As protests continue to take shape in every corner of Iran, the regime’s efforts to prevent a social explosion are proving to more futile with every passing day.
