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Former MP Acknowledges Regime’s Crimes During Iran Protest in 2019

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The November 2019 nationwide uprising in Iran

In an interview on April 21, Mahmoud Sadeghi, a former member of the regime’s parliament, acknowledged how the mullahs’ regime massacre protesters during major Iran protests in November 2019. Sadeghi’s remarks once again show the extent of the regime’s violence.

“Mahmoud Sadeghi, in an interview, narrated the strategy of the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council [Ali Shamkhani] during the November 2019 protests. A narrative that, of course, met the reaction of this institution and its denial,” wrote the state-run Emtedad-e No on Wednesday.

In a video clip published in early April, Sadeghi had said: “In commissions tasked with handling [the November uprising] asked if there was any sign of opposition groups, but they said no. I told Mr. Shamkhani that these are people. They are killing people in the street. What are you doing? Will you continue to kill if they remain in the streets? Shamkhani said, yes, we will do it.”

In response, Ali Shamkhani and the regime’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council threatened Sadeghi with judicial prosecution.

Speaking with Emtedad-e No, Sadeghi said: “The tragedy of November 2019, with its wide scale in the country and the unprecedented number of victims and killed, was not a hidden or deniable issue.”

During the major Iran protests in November, over 1500 protesters were killed by the regime’s forces, according to reports tallied by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). Reuters later confirmed that 1500 is the number of Iran protests’ martyrs in 2019.

“After Reuters announced 1500 [death toll], a member of the Security Commission expressed happiness. He said that this would intimidate people and prevents them from participating in protests out of fear,” Sadeghi acknowledged as a part of the regime’s factional feuds.

“During the [November uprising], the security authorities believed that by refusing to promptly oppress and suffocate protests, they would continue to lose control. They feared that if the protests spread and the unrest continues, it would become uncontrollable,” Sadeghi acknowledged.

During the major Iran protests and killing protesters, the regime imposed an internet blackout for days to continue its killing spree with open hands.

“The IRIB [State-TV] did not fulfill its duty during the November protests and called protesters rioters. During these incidents, we witnessed that a high-security atmosphere was established. With the disconnection of the Internet, authorities created unprecedented media restrictions,” Sadeghi admitted on Wednesday.

Sadeghi then said that Shmakhani “instead of denying my comments and issuing such a statement should have given an explanation about those violent and tragic use of force and identify the culprits.” While denying the death toll, the regime has refused to announce an exact number of deaths. Meanwhile, officials try to downplay the number of martyrs. In June 2020, Mojtaba Zolnouri, the current head of the parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, claimed: “230 were killed during the November incident.”

During the third wave of protests in January 2020, Iranian people chanted, “1500 is the number of our martyrs of November.” Thus, they underlined that they would not forgive nor forget the perpetrators of this crime against humanity. The people’s nationwide boycott of the regime’s sham parliamentary elections in February 2020 underlined this issue.

“We are in such a situation that at any point, this fire under ashes may rise. The November 2019 incidents will not leave Iranian people’s memory,” the state-run Arman daily admitted on May 19, 2020.

As social and economic crises deepen in Iran, the regime’s officials and authorities are blaming one another for killing protesters during November 2019 uprising. But these maneuvers no longer work, as people hold the entire regime accountable for not killing protesters in November 2019 but four decades of crime and corruption.

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