IRAN: Weekend protesters steadfast against government

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Tensions in Iran may have gone from a rolling boil to a slow simmer, but protests continued over the weekend and showed no signs of abating as the post-election opposition movement entered its seventh week.

In fact, anti-government protesters and their supporters abroad seem to have streamlined the process of smuggling video out of Iran, despite spotty Internet access and the threat of arrest. Amateur videographers appear to be getting bolder too; footage posted online is less shaky and being uploaded more quickly than in recent weeks.

On Thursday, video surfaced of relatives mourning the death of Neda Agha Soltan, the young woman who was shot dead in Tehran and became a galvanizing symbol for the opposition. The clip features a closeup of Agha Soltan’s grave surrounded by weeping women.

On Friday, a celebration for the famous Persian poet Ahmad Shamlou quickly turned into a rally against the government, with attendees shouting slogans and raising their hands in the victory symbol that has become synonymous with the opposition.

The weekend also witnessed organized marches in and around the capital, Tehran, including the notorious Evin prison just north of the city.

A number of videos circulating on the Internet show streets lined with police vans as hundreds of protesters cried “death to the dictator” and “death to Russia,” a close ally of the ruling regime.

-- Meris Lutz in Beirut

Video and screen shot: Compiled by Meris Lutz

Leave us your comments here or
follow @LATimesworld on Twitter.