As details of the death toll for January’s protests continue to emerge, three students explain why they are resisting a return to normality
More than 45 days after a brutal January crackdown that left thousands of Iranian protesters dead, students across several universities are protesting again. As Iran’s new academic term began on Saturday, students in Tehran gathered on campus, chanting anti-government slogans, despite a heavy security presence and plainclothes officers stationed outside university gates.
The Guardian spoke to protesting students about why they were rallying despite the fact that thousands had been killed and tens of thousands arrested in the January demonstrations.
“Our classrooms are empty because the graveyards are full,” said Hossein*, 21, a student at the University of Tehran. “It’s for them – our friends, classmates and compatriots, who were gunned down in front of our eyes, that we decided to boycott the classes.”
If you’re going out of your way to avoid any information that conflicts with your preferred narrative, don’t act like contrary evidence doesn’t exist just because you haven’t seen it.
Hey I’m the one with both Hexbear and Reddthat accounts, not dodging anything. I’m just calling atrocity propaganda in the eve of invasion by its name.
The protests and their coverage started before the US admin leapt on it as an opportunity to justify military action. You’re discounting a people’s movement against an authoritarian regime just because some other authoritarian regime is trying to use them opportunistically.
The protests and their coverage famously happened months after Iran was literally bombed by the US, have you forgotten about that? The whole Iran throwing missiles to Israel thing?
Two different stories, dude…
Sure buddy