Jahangir: No regime can endure forever while committing oppression and injustice

About two weeks after protests swept across dozens of cities in Iran, Asma Jahangir, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Iran, emphasized in an interview on Thursday, January 21, that no regime "can endure forever while committing oppression and injustice." Less than two weeks ago, nationwide protests began in the city of Mashhad with slogans criticizing the economic situation of the people and quickly expanded to political issues and the very foundation of the Islamic Republic. Demonstrations took place in over 50 cities, resulting in more than 20 deaths and over 3,700 arrests. Meanwhile, reports of at least two "suicides" in Evin and Arak prisons following these protests and widespread arrests have raised concerns. In response to these worries, people on social media, members of parliament, other officials, and several human rights organizations have reacted to news coming from Iran after the protests. In this context, Amnesty International also issued a statement last Tuesday, calling for an immediate investigation into the deaths of protesters in prison. Now, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights has also reacted to these reports, calling for the release of all political and ideological prisoners in Iran in an interview with the BBC. Jahangir noted that she shared her concerns about the situation of detained protesters with Iranian officials, stating that ideological and political prisoners, human rights activists, and all those imprisoned for defending their rights or those of others should be released. According to the text of the UN rapporteur's remarks published on the US State Department's website, Jahangir also said: "The atmosphere of terror among Iranians inside the country who want to express their demands is horrifying, even among Iranians outside the country." She further warned Iranian officials that "no regime can claim to be democratic or representative while continuously committing such oppression and injustice against its own people, and it cannot endure forever." Almost all official figures of the Islamic Republic have attributed the recent protests in Iran to "enemies" and outside forces. For instance, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, in a speech on Tuesday, January 19, referred to the nationwide protests as "fireworks," "mischief," and "the enemy's counterattack," accusing the countries of the United States, Britain, and Israel of organizing these gatherings and claiming that a "wealthy" regional government funded these protests. The US, Israel, Britain, and Saudi Arabia, which have been accused of "provoking" the protesters and intending to "strike" the Islamic Republic, have denied any involvement in this matter.