Approval of 'Urgent Plan to Select a Location for Public Protests' by Tehran City Council

Simultaneously with a closed session of the parliament regarding recent gatherings in Iran, the Tehran City Council approved an 'urgent plan to select a location for public protests'. According to the Shora Online website, on Sunday, January 7, the Tehran City Council approved the urgent plan with 10 votes in favor and five against. Ahmad Masjed Jamei, a member of the Tehran City Council, while supporting this plan, stated that the Tehran Municipality must work with 'relevant agencies' to determine a location for holding gatherings, but did not specify which agencies should participate. Mahmoud Mirloohe, another member of the Tehran City Council, also stated that under the conditions set in the laws related to gatherings, 'not even a legal gathering is feasible'. He added, 'Opponents of the government say that all criticisms are economic. So, it should be asked, if this is the case, why is your response to protests security-related?'. Meanwhile, if a location is determined by the Tehran Municipality for holding gatherings, the Ministry of Interior must still issue a permit for the gathering. Article 27 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states: 'The formation of gatherings and marches, without carrying weapons, is free, provided that it does not disrupt the principles of Islam.' However, complex conditions are outlined in Iranian laws for issuing permits for gatherings or marches, and the Ministry of Interior has only approved a few requests in recent years. Groups requesting to hold gatherings or marches must also provide 'complete information about the executive and security officials' to the Ministry of Interior, in addition to details such as the subject and time of the march. Nevertheless, the Ministry of Interior has rarely issued permits for marches and gatherings in recent years, including rejecting requests from Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi, leaders of the protests against the 2009 presidential election and their supporting parties. The Ministry of Interior has also repeatedly denied permits for gatherings of professional groups, including workers. Moreover, these organizations have reported that after holding peaceful gatherings, several participants or organizers have been arrested or summoned. In this regard, reports from websites belonging to professional organizations and some news agencies indicate that sometimes there is a severe crackdown on professional gatherings in Iran. For instance, there was a crackdown on workers of the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Company in the summer of this year, and the anti-riot police attacked workers of the Hepco and Azarab factories in Arak in September, which drew criticism. Meanwhile, after the intensification of protest gatherings in recent days, Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker, and several other members of parliament called for permits for these gatherings, but the Ministry of Interior repeatedly announced that the recent protest gatherings do not have permits and are 'illegal'. However, in recent days, marches in support of the Islamic Republic have been held in protest against the recent gatherings, which officials from the Ministry of Interior have not labeled as 'illegal'. The closed session of parliament regarding the gatherings was also held on Sunday with the presence of the ministers of interior, information, the commander of the police force, and the head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB). Jalal Mirzaei, a representative from Ilam in parliament, announced that the ministers of information and interior reported to parliament members about the 'roots' of the recent gatherings. The 'No to Price Hikes' protests initially began on December 28 in Mashhad and several other cities, but as these gatherings continued, protesters raised political slogans against the leader and officials of the Islamic Republic in addition to economic slogans. Subsequently, protest gatherings have been held in over 100 cities in Iran. Following the crackdown by the Islamic Republic's security and military forces, at least 22 people have been killed so far.