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Using chants with calls and responses, a group of over 50 people walk along Bigelow Blvd in Oakland on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, to honor the memory of the 176 passengers on Flight PS752 and thousands of other victims of the Islamic Republic regime.  The group walked from the Carnegie  Museum of Art around the Cathedral of Learning and back.
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Pittsburgh Iranian Americans speak out against oppression in their homeland

Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Iranian Americans speak out against oppression in their homeland

The execution of two more protesters this weekend in Iran became the focus of a demonstration held Sunday in Oakland that drew more than 100 people to a rally where Iranian Americans expressed their outrage with the oppressive regime’s policies.

“There needs to be a revolution. There needs to be a change of government,” said Maryam Saeedi, an economics professor at Carnegie Mellon University who organized the rally.

As the Iran government continues to arrest and execute its own citizens for protesting against the government oppression of women and democracy, Pittsburgh’s Iranian community made an effort to bring awareness to the world that Iranians are being killed each day.

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While Sunday’s rally allowed protesters to express their outrage over the recent executions, the event held in front of Carnegie Museum of Art had been planned for some time in advance to honor the 176 lives that were lost on Flight PS752 on Jan. 8, 2020.

The crowd of mostly Iranian immigrants met in front of the museum on Forbes Avenue and marched to Schenley Plaza and back carrying signs and chanting pleas for freedom and democracy in their homeland. Their chants included phrases like “Women, life, freedom,” “Women’s rights, human rights,” and “Freedom for Iran.”

The “Say her name,” chant was a reference to Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who died in police custody Sept. 16 after being detained by the morality police in Tehran for not wearing a hijab properly.

The most recent executions bring the total to four men known to have been executed since the nationwide demonstrations began in September.

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According to various human rights organizations and other sources in Iran, the government has arrested approximately 18,000 people and killed more than 500, including 23 protesters who have died as a result of torture.

Those executed over the past 100 days, including the two most recent, faced rapid trials behind closed doors, according to news reports.

“We are all outraged. It’s sickening and unbelievable,” said an Iranian-American protester who asked that their name not be used.

“This has been going on for months. The people are not giving up. All they have is their bodies and their life. Nothing else.”

Ms. Saeedi said she has decided to stay vocal in her opposition of the Iran government until it has ended.

The three-year anniversary of the airplane crash was a sad reminder that brutalities by the Iranian regime against its own citizens is not a recent development.

Flight PS752 was shot down with two missiles only three minutes after takeoff from Tehran’s IKA airport, killing 176 passengers and crew on board, including 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, 4 Afghans, and 3 Britons.

After three days of denial and under mounting international pressure, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps admitted it had launched the missiles that brought down the Boeing 737-800.

Ms. Saeedi said the event organizers had reached out to a wider audience to support the rally, including Americans and Ukrainians, because many Ukrainian citizens lost their lives on the flight.

Tony Lane, a member of the socialist workers party, said he heard about the protest the night before and decided to join.

“Now there have been two more protesters in Iran executed,” he said. “It’s important to support the protest that are happening in Iran and oppose the executions and other government oppression.”

Tim Grant: timgrant@post-gazette.com or 412-779-5834

First Published: January 8, 2023, 10:22 p.m.
Updated: January 9, 2023, 12:18 p.m.

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Using chants with calls and responses, a group of over 50 people walk along Bigelow Blvd in Oakland on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, to honor the memory of the 176 passengers on Flight PS752 and thousands of other victims of the Islamic Republic regime. The group walked from the Carnegie Museum of Art around the Cathedral of Learning and back.  (Post-Gazette)
Using chants with calls and responses, a group of over 50 people gathered in front of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, to honor the memory of the 176 passengers on Flight PS752 and thousands of other victims of the Islamic Republic regime.  (Post-Gazette)
Using chants with calls and responses, a group of over 50 people crosses Forbes Avenue in Oakland on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, to honor the memory of the 176 passengers on Flight PS752 and thousands of other victims of the Islamic Republic regime.  (Post-Gazette)
Using chants with calls and responses, a group of over 50 people gathered in front of the Carnegie Museum of Art in Oakland on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023, to honor the memory of the 176 passengers on Flight PS752 and thousands of other victims of the Islamic Republic regime.  (Post-Gazette)
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