Iran attempts to crush dissent with a wave of arrests after deadly crackdown
After a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests that left thousands dead, Iranian authorities are taking the next step to crush dissent: mass arrests.
Tens of thousands of people were arrested during the nationwide unrest, and security forces are still tracking down and detaining people they believe attended protests that called for an end to theocratic rule, according to human rights observers. But in recent weeks, authorities have also targeted specific groups perceived as threats to the regime, including reformist politicians, doctors, lawyers and journalists, rights groups say.
The arrests have not squashed the anti-government sentiment: Protests have broken out on a number of university campuses in recent days, according to state media and videos circulating on social media.
“What they have left is guns, prisons and the revolutionary courts. To kill and imprison people and in this way stay in power,” said Hossein Raeesi, a prominent human rights lawyer who practiced in Iran for 20 years and is now a professor at Carleton University in Ottawa.
President Donald Trump said Tuesday in his State of the Union speech that Iran had killed at least 32,000 protesters.
https://www.nbcnews.com/world/iran/iran-arrests-protesters-reformists-crush-dissent-deadly-crackdown-rcna259294
More than 50,000 have been arrested.