Iran rocked by fresh protests after police fired tear gas at a protester’s monument

New protests were reported in several Iranian cities on Thursday after memorial services for those killed by security forces turned violent, Iran International reported. A large crowd gathered around Hamidreza Rouhi’s grave at the Behesht-e Zahra cemetery in Tehran on the 40th day of her death. Hamidreza, who was a college student and model, was shot dead on November 18.

“This dead flower was an offering to the homeland,” the crowd shouted. Later, people began to chant against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whom they hold responsible for the murder of the protesters.

“Down with the dictator,” people can be heard saying in the video footage.

The crowd began to grow and chants against the regime grew. “Poverty, corruption, high cost of living, We will continue until the overthrow [of the regime]”the crowd chanted.

Security forces then tried to subdue the crowd using tear gas, which people tried to neutralize by burning trash. The forces also reportedly fired shotgun pellets. To prevent more people from joining those already inside, they closed the doors.

State media initially claimed that Hamidreza was a member of the Basij Revolutionary Guard militia. He blamed the protesters for his murder and called him a “martyr.” However, his friends came up with evidence to the contrary and the media later had to admit that he was a protester.

“They killed Hamidreza and claimed him as Basiji,” mourners chanted at his funeral in Behesht-e Zahra three days after his death.

The cemeteries are mostly full of people on Thursdays as several of them visit the graves of their loved ones. Reports suggest that Behesht-e Zahra also had many visitors that day who joined the chanting crowds. According to social media posts, the chants continued late into the night, with roads outside the cemetery blocked by traffic.

Meanwhile, the security forces did not allow Hamidreza’s parents to attend the memorial and prevented them from leaving their home.

Funeral and memorial services have been the target of regular attacks by security forces in recent months. They use tear gas to quell the protests and have even killed people. On November 20, Heydar Mahali died at the funeral of 16-year-old Karvan Ghader-Shukri in Piranshahr.

Several more memorials were held across the country on Thursday for other protesters killed during the country’s historic protests following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.

(With agency contributions)

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