Iranian Expat Communities Protest From Melbourne to Vancouver

Large numbers of Iranian expatriates and human rights activists have held rallies in solidarity with tens of thousands of people who have poured onto streets in protest to the death of a hijab victim.

While people in several Iranian cities vowed to continue protests against the Islamic Republic on Tuesday, numerous gatherings were held in Canada, Australia and some cities across Europe over the death of the 22-year-old Mahsa (Zhina or Jina) Amiri, who died following a severe head trauma in the hands of the Islamic Republic’s hijab enforcement patrols. 

Iranians living in Melbourne, Australia, held a rally outside the city’s main library on Tuesday to protest Mahsa' tragic murder and express sympathy with her family. 

Iranians in the Canadian cities of Vancouver and Toronto also held protest rallies, chanting slogans against the Islamic Republic’s authorities and its misogynistic laws. Declaring their solidarity with the protesters in Iran, they chanted "Death to Khamenei" and "Woman, Life, Freedom."

German cities of Cologne (Köln) and Frankfurt as well as the capital Berlin were also scenes of similar protests. 

On Sunday and Monday, a number of Iranians held similar rallies in the French capital Paris outside the Iranian Embassy. 

In Iran protesters have been emphasizing their personal freedoms including the right to decide what to wear. Unlike most protests in the past few years that were triggered by economic hardship, this round of demonstrations is propelled more by a yearning for social freedoms. Clearly, most protesters are rejecting the very essence of clerical rule and its top symbol, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.