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Iran Protests Continue on Anniversary of 1999 Uprisings

by Amy Judd | July 9, 2009 at 01:59 pm

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Iran protests continue weeks after the Iran elections took place and the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reelected.

The protests have now moved to using tactics like writing protests on money and spray painting walls so that it is harder for the message to be removed.

Demonstrations were called for today on the 10th anniversary of the Iran student uprising of 1999. The police launched a violent raid on the dormitories of Tehran University and that is why that protest ended. Mulitple protests were planned for today in Tehran and in other major cities with survivors of the 1999 protests leading the protests of today, while trying to avoid arrest.

State figures say roughly 1,000 people have been detained, while human rights groups cite a number three times as high. Most were released within 72 hours while others have been held without charge or information on their whereabouts.

"We want to know where they are. That's the least someone should have, even if they're murderers," said Mehdi Sarakhiz, whose father Isa Saharkhiz was arrested this week.

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[Photos-17] 18Tir protests in Tehran July 9 #iranelection #18tir

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uploaded by IRAN 360°

Some say the government is panicking over the recent protests and are trying to crack down on the uprisings, but protesters seem to show no signs of slowing down.

There are some early signs of a possible three-day strike, which would coincide with the religious holiday of Etekaf that observes the birth of Imam Ali. During this time there could be a strike without punishment.

"This is a second protest level. They want to try to keep the momentum going. Every opportunity that they get they want to show that the struggle continues," said Shahriar Shahabi, an Iranian analyst in Dubai who says protests continued in Shiraz, Mashad, and other cities. He says that if successful, Mousavi's plan to create a new political party would be a pivotal boost to opposition efforts.

Nightly rooftop chants of Allahu Akbar continue and security forces try to catch the people leading these chants; there have been two reported deaths from these raids. Ahmadinejad addressed the country on Tuesday saying that these deaths were from foreign powers meddling in the country's election.

Protesters released from custody have said they suffered brutal physical and sexual abuse and some even said they were waterboarded.

At the moment, there is no end in sight to these protests.