Chanting antigovernment slogans, thousands of people in Mashad (capital of the northeastern Khorassan Province) staged a protest following a soccer match last Friday.
Young people clashed with the suppressive forces after intelligence agents and State Security Forces tried to crush the protests.
The demonstration went on well in to the night in Samen-ol A’emeh soccer stadium and nearby streets and districts throughout the city. Hundreds were wounded or arrested. Those detained were taken to unknown locations and no news is available about their whereabouts. So widespread were the arrests that a state-run news agency admitted the arrest of 100 protesters.
Some 150 government vehicles were either destroyed or damaged during the hit-and-run clashes in several parts of the city.
The Iranian Resistance draws the attention of international human rights organizations to the brutal crackdown on the Mashad protest and calls for urgent action to secure the release of those arrested.
Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran
July 17, 2005
