Government Forces Attack Protest of People with Disabilities in Tehran

Government forces, including police and security officials, attacked a protest by people with disabilities that took place on Sunday in front of the Organization for Planning and Budget in Tehran. The 'Campaign for the Disabled' account on social media platform X reported that during the protest, 'police blocked the path of the disabled.' According to this report, security officials 'created conflict to sideline the protest' and subjected the protesters to 'the worst insults.' The 'Campaign for the Disabled' reported that a significant number of 'deaf, blind, and physically disabled individuals' attended the 'ninth nationwide gathering of the disabled' on that Sunday. The protesters chanted: 'No charity, no favor, we want our rights with dignity,' 'O disabled, shout out, demand your rights,' and 'O disabled, rise up, to end discrimination.' This protest was held 'in protest of the non-implementation of Article 27 of the Disability Law,' where 'security officials snatched the microphone from the disabled' and injured one of the deaf participants. In recent weeks, a meeting was held between a group of disabled individuals representing the protesting crowd and the managers of the Organization for Planning and Budget, but many of their demands, such as overdue payments, remain unresolved. The return of the budget line for the implementation of the 'Disability Support Law' to the annual budget, an increase in the budget for Article 27 of the Disability Rights Law, and resolving the overdue payments for the year 1402 are among the protesters' demands. People with disabilities have repeatedly gathered in recent months in front of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the Organization for Planning and Budget, or the Judiciary of the Islamic Republic in Tehran, as well as in front of welfare offices in other cities. According to Article 27 of the Disability Support Law, the government of the Islamic Republic is obliged to determine and allocate the necessary budget for 'livelihood assistance' for individuals with 'very severe' or 'severe disabilities without jobs and income' at the level of the annual minimum wage in the country's annual budget laws. Previously, sociologist Mehrdad Darvishpour told Voice of America that people with disabilities in Iran are under additional pressure due to the policies of the Islamic Republic.