Opposition leader Mir Houssein Mousavi was prevented from leaving the entrance of the Academy of Fine Arts in Tehran, by 30–40 plainclothes motorcyclists circling the building on Tuesday, as reported from Mousavi’s Web site Kaleme.com, one day after Iranian students took to the streets in a nationwide rally to commemorate Student Day.
While they were not identified, the motorcyclists are suspected to be plainclothes Revolutionary Guard members.
Student Day, a day that commemorates the death of three Iranian students in 1953 during the Mohamed Reza Pahlavi Shahs’ regime, has been a symbolic day of revolution, and supported in the past by the Islamic regime in Iran.
However, in most recent years, the day has become a symbolic reference to freedom and human rights, and even more much so in light of the post-presidential election protests in the summer.
Thousands of Iranians participated in the rally on Monday, ending in a violent clash with Basiji security forces, and the arrest of over 200 Iranians, as reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
The arrests come in the wake of another round of mass trials for postelection protesters, which resulted in several executions.
Protestors Critisized
Ali Larijani, Iran’s speaker of Parliament, criticized protesters on Tuesday for deviating from what he claimed to be the true mottos of Student Day, and “neglecting the list of U.S. hostile actions against Iran.”
He stated that three students were killed in 1953 for opposing U.S. policies in Iran, and that the day is for maintaining vigilance toward the “enemies’ plots.”
The arrests, intimidation of the opposition leader Mousavi, and Larijani’s public criticism of the protesters is seen by some analysts as an effort by the regime to curb any efforts by the Iranian people that is supportive of the opposition leader Mousavi, especially from protesting at levels seen during the summer’s postelection period.
The protests that arose after the announcement of Ahmadinejad’s victory in the presidential elections were the most high profile and violent clashes since the Islamic regime’s overthrow of the Shah’s regime, leading to the confirmed death of 85 Iranians, with unconfirmed reports pushing the estimates over 200.
