Supporters of MEK/PMOI in London commemorate martyrs of Iran protests
Commemorating 40th day of martyrdom of 1500 protesters of November Iran protests
Saturday, 28 December 2019, Anglo-Iranian Communities and supporters of MEK/PMOI and the Iranian Resistance (NCRI) from across the UK attended a rally outside Number 10 Downing Street to commemorate the 40th continuous day of Iran protests and the killing of over 1,500 protestors. They honoured the martyrs who gave their life for freedom and the thousands who have been arrested; many who face torture and imminent execution.
Since mid-November, there have been mass protests in near 200 cities across Iran. The Iranian regime suppressive forces responded with a brutal crackdown that included live random and indiscriminate shootings of peaceful defenseless protestors. Over 1,500 peaceful protestors were killed, and 12,000 protestors of all ages and ethnic backgrounds are currently imprisoned in Iran’s notorious jails without legal representation and other basic rights.
Supporters of MEK/PMOI in London and those who attended this important rally outside Downing Street urged the UK Government and its international allies in the EU and UN to hold the Iranian regime to account for its inhumane crimes against the peaceful Iranian protestors.
They demanded an increased international pressure on Iran to immediately release over 12,000 protestors; to ask the UN Secretary-General and its High Commissioner for Human Rights to dispatch a fact-finding mission to Iran immediately so to investigate the extent of the killings and visit detention centers to monitor any mistreatment of prisoners in cases of torture and forced confessions; and finally to ask the UN Security Council to declare the massacre of the Iranian protestors as a crime against humanity, and bring those who are responsible for these crimes, including President Hassan Rouhani and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, to international tribunals so to be held accountable.
Mr. Roger Lyons, former president of TUC, and former General Secretary of the MSF trade union addressed the rally in saying: “I congratulate you on your stand today calling for an end of the Ayatollah regime in Tehran and this year you are not alone. For 40 years, the fascist regime has ruled Iran but this time we are now in a 40 day period of mass resistance! We’ve had enough of 40 years of tyranny, and now we have seen 40 days of solidarity.
I salute the thousands who have been standing up to the Revolutionary Guards, and I salute the thousands who have faced arrests and over 1,500 who have given their lives for freedom in Iran”.
Supporters of MEK/PMOI in London commemorate martyrs of Iran protests
Dr. Hamid Reza Taherzadeh member of NCRI on the committees of arts and culture and foreign affairs, also addressed the rally stating: “I wish to pay homage to the victims of the recent uprisings and the fierce resistance that they have put up against the current dictatorship, and I admire the crucial role of the Revolutionary Units of the Resistance who played a course in the recent uprisings in nearly 200 cities across the country and we stress that, unlike other uprisings in Iran, this time an army of young, educated, unemployed and those who have long been deprived of basic needs, have all imploded on the streets to bring this regime down, and have bravely stood up to the brutal crackdown of the Iranian regime.
With regards to the mass killings and mass arrests, the UN must bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice, and on top of all to bring Ali Khamenei the primary person who ordered these massacres, and we must bring him to justice immediately”. Dr. Taherzadeh concluded that this will certainly be done soon by the people of Iran who will topple the regime and bring those to justice”.
The Iranian regime has desperately tried to prevent more protests on this landmark 40th day anniversary by shutting down the internet and restricting mobile networks so as to disrupt protests and to hide the regime’s brutal crackdown. However, the Iranian people in defiance are to commemorate the deaths of protestors with courage and plan to continue their uprising against this authoritarian regime so as to topple the Ayatollahs and bring freedom and democracy to their country.
