As people crowded the Park Complex area of the city near Zayandehrud River for week-end strolls, State Security Forces agents began harassing the young people and tried to arrest several teenagers on charges of "immoral demeanor." But the people prevented the Guards from taking away those who were arrested. As the dispute between city residents and the Revolutionary Guards escalated, clashes broke out. The Guards fired into the air, while angry protesters chanted slogans against the clerical regime's leaders and responded to the Guards' attacks by throwing stones and bottles at them.
After the clashes broke out, the government sent reinforcements to the area to quash the demonstrators, but the protests spread rapidly and reached Khajoo River and Aineh Park. Two vehicles belonging to the State Security Forces were set on fire by angry demonstrators. The Revolutionary Guards arrested at least 15 protesters and the people dispersed after three hours.
The detainees were taken to Seyyed Alikhan police station for interrogation and were subjected to torture. Nothing is known of their fates.
In a separate development, the regime's suppressive agents clashed with peddlers in the grand bazaar of Tabriz (northwest Iran) at 6 pm (local time) on Thursday, July 1. Scuffles broke out after agents of the "Task Force for Removal of Obstruction of Public Passages" tried to confiscate the booths owned by peddlers. They were backed by State Security Forces agents. People present on the scene of the clash sided with the peddlers. The SSF agents arrested a large number of peddlers and took them to an unknown location on minibuses.
The Iranian Resistance appeals to international authorities and human rights organizations to intervene to force the clerical regime to release the detainees in Isfahan and Tabriz.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
July 5, 1999
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