IRAN. With the approaching anniversary of the July 9, 1999 student uprising, the Iranian authorities are preparing a new terror-and-fear campaign to avoid mass protests on that day. One of the key elements of this campaign will be public executions of anti-government demonstrators arrested in June of this year.

The Student Movement Coordinating Committee for Democracy in Iran (SMCCDI) reported citing sources close the Islamic regime, that a special committee -- set up by the Iranian government to prevent potential rallies on July 9 – has decided to issue and execute death penalties on charges of “spying for the US”, “attempt against national security”, “armed attempt to overthrow the Islamic state”. Arrested demonstrators to be charged with these crimes are reportedly being held at the intelligence department of the Revolutionary Guards, or the Pasdaran Corps. The Islamic regime hopes in this way to prevent a new wave of mass protests against the existing political system.
During a Friday prayer in Tehran last week, Ayatollah Mohammad Yazdi, one of the most influential leaders of the fundamentalist regime, urged the courts to treat demonstrators as “moharebs”, or people waging war against God, which practically amounts to demands to deliver death penalties.