The Washington Post is reporting that Iran’s Baseej are beating protesters with clubs in renewed protests in Iran. Reports count the protesters anywhere from several hundred to 2-3,000. Protests have continued despite government warnings of a ‘crushing response.’ Protests have taken a variety of forms in the last several weeks, yet these are the largest street protests reported in several days.
Iranian Police Disperse Protesters on Anniversary of Unrest
TEHRAN, July 9 — Hundreds of anti-government protesters tried to gather outside Tehran University on Thursday, despite a heavy police presence and sharp warnings from the governor of Tehran that the planned demonstration was unauthorized and would be met with a “crushing response.”
Riot police with shields and batons dispersed people as they walked through alleys and attempted to assemble at Engelhab Square, in front of the campus, around 5 p.m., witnesses reported. People could be heard screaming in the background as one witness was interviewed. The witness said members of the Baseej, a volunteer militia, were beating people with clubs.
“There are 300 of us in a small alley and we are under attack by dozens of security forces,” the witness reported. Other reports estimated that there were as many as 2,000 or 3,000 people in the streets leading to the square. Pepper spray was used, and police officers in plainclothes led people off the streets into white unmarked vans, a witness said.
Filed under: Foreign Policy, Independent, Iran, Politics | Tagged: iran baseej, iran basij, iran basiji, iran beat down, iranian crackdown
