Prosecutor of the Islamic Republic: Over Four Thousand Arrested During Recent Anti-Regime Protests in Iran

The prosecutor of the Islamic Republic states that over four thousand people were arrested during the recent anti-regime protests in Iran, but Ayatollah Abdolnabi Namazi told the Students' News Agency that about forty percent of those arrested were released shortly after. In Tehran, which was the center of the anti-regime protests, eight hundred people were arrested. Observers say the number of arrests indicates that the scale of the anti-regime protests in Iran was much broader and the number of demonstrators was significantly higher than initially thought. The continuous protests against the Islamic Republic began nearly three weeks ago around Tehran University and quickly spread to other areas of Iran. Students and other citizens of Iran demanded more freedoms until police repression largely quelled the protests. On Monday, the Iranian government banned protests outside the university grounds, which were to be held in commemoration of the 18th of Khordad, the fourth anniversary of the major student uprising in Iran and the severe crackdown by regime security forces on students. However, the government stated that universities are free to allow their students to hold ceremonies within the university grounds if they wish. Last week, Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, a senior cleric of the Islamic Republic, stated that demonstrators should be executed because they are, in his words, 'enemies of God' and threaten the security of the Islamic Republic. Last week, Colin Powell, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated that the U.S. encourages protests against the Islamic regime in Iran but has not provided any other assistance to the demonstrators.