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Iran
Focus
Tehran, Iran,
Mar. 14 – Iran’s
paramilitary police have launched a massive crackdown in Iranian towns and
cities to prevent people from turning Tuesday evening’s annual “fire
festival” into organised anti-government protests.
The following is a photo of a young man who was detained by Iran’s State Security Forces (SSF) for taking
part in a demonstration outside the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary
Guards Corps in the western city of Khorramabad earlier in the day.
The photo was sent to Iran Focus by activists inside Iran.
During the festival, known as ‘chaharshanbeh souri’ – literally, Feast of Wednesday – people jump over
bonfires to “drive away evil”. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, however, Iran’s
theocratic leaders have made strenuous efforts to stamp out the festivities,
but to no avail. In recent years, there have been extensive clashes between
festive crowds and the security forces deployed to prevent street
celebrations.
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