Militaristic Atmosphere Reported in Tehran for June 20th Anniversary

HRANA- A militaristic atmosphere was reported in Tehran for the one year anniversary of one the bloodiest days of protesting after last years presidential elections.

There was a heavy presence of plain clothed agents and security forces all over the city including Fatemi Square, Vali Asr St., Enghelab Square, 15 Khordad metro center, and Darvaze Dowlat metro center.

June 20th marks the day Neda Agha Soltan lost her life. She has become a symbol of the protests that took place after last years presidential elections. Government security forces maintained a heavy presence on Salehi and Khosravi St [the street where Neda Agha Soltan was shot and killed] to prevent protesters from converging on the area. In an effort to intimidate citizens, security forces were seen video taping people in the area.

June 20th, 2009, witnessed a surge in the violent suppression of the post election protests. On that day security forces severely beat protestors and opened fire killing numerous people. It is believed that Khamenei’s Friday prayer speech of June 19, 2009 was a directive to security forces to deal harshly with those opposing the government.

In addition to Neda Agha Soltan, numerous others including Abolfazl Abdollahi, Ashkan Sohrabi, Amir Hossein Toufanpour, Iman Hashemi, Pouya Maghsoud-Beigi, Salar Tahmasebi, Saeed Abbassifar, Sohrab Arabi, Mohsen Hadadi, Masoud Hashemzadeh, and Fatemeh Samsarpour were killed on that day.

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