Unopposed vigilante group protest in Iran sparks calls for free assembly

Following a protest by a vigilante group on Wednesday opposing calls to lift internet restrictions, a prominent politician has gained support by calling for the right to free assembly for internet freedom advocates.

Many political activists, journalists, and others in Iran have taken to social media to support Javad Emam’s announcement that his party plans to hold a rally next week in support of President Masoud Pezeshkian’s promise to lift extensive internet filtering.

Emam has said that the rally will be held at the same location in Tehran where vigilantes freely convened to protest Wednesday against Pezeshkian’s plans. 

The demonstration was led by Hossein Allahkaram, leader of the shadowy ultra-hardline paramilitary group Ansar-e Hezbollah which since the 1990s has confronted and beaten dissidents.

Participants in the small yet vocal ultra-hardliner rally demanded that authorities not only maintain internet filtering but also restrict bandwidth allocated to Instagram, WhatsApp, and Telegram to prevent access even via anti-filtering software. These platforms are already blocked, and people use VPNs to secure access.

The veteran politician published an image of his official letter to the interior minister, Eskandar Momeni, on X Thursday. Since then, his announcement has widely been reported by the media in Tehran.

“You are kindly requested to recognize the right of the critics [to protest] in the same way that you gave the right [to protest] to those against the lifting of internet filtering and to make the necessary arrangements to hold the said rally [safely],” Emam said in the letter.

He referred to Article 27 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic which stipulates that public assemblies and marches may be freely held provided arms are not carried and “they are not detrimental to the fundamental principles of Islam.”

The ministry is responsible for issuing rally permits when requested by political groups and parties and security for such rallies. It has, however, always turned down such requests, presumably on instructions from higher security bodies such as the Supreme National Security Council. Only state-sanctioned gatherings in support of government policies have been allowed for decades, especially those against Israel and the West.

Many including politicians, activists, and journalists have supported Emam’s move in social media posts. Some supporters say they will take part in the planned rally.

“I will participate in the rally against filtering, too,” journalist Payam Borazjani tweeted while contending that the rally can show vigilantes that those against internet filtering are numerous compared to their small numbers.

“Just as supporters of filtering can stage a rally effortlessly and in complete security and read a statement, those against filtering must have the same right to express their opinion … so that everyone can find out how many are pro or against filtering,” a member of the Central Council of the reformist Azadi (Freedom) Party, Farzad Shalforoush, tweeted.

"The majority” has the right to rally and protest about the same things as “the minority” is allowed to convene and protest about social media, activist Amirhosein Nasiri argued in an X post.

“Those against filtering had no right to rally, they don’t have the right now, and they will never do,” an X post in response to a tweet by the Leader of the Reform Front, Azar Mansouri contended.

Some argue it’s unlikely the ministry will recognize the gathering as legitimate or ensure participants' safety from potential vigilante violence, or that security forces will refrain from cracking down on protesters.

Iranian security forces typically suppress any "unauthorized" protest, even small ones, under the pretext of "violating public peace." Yet, media reports indicate that authorities did not interfere with the ultra-hardliner rally on Wednesday.

Emam, the secretary-general of the Assembly of Devotees Party—a small but influential reformist group—was a top aide to Green Movement leader Mir-Hossein Mousavi, who has been under house arrest with his wife, Zahra Rahnavard, since 2011.

Emam now serves as the Reform Front's spokesman, though he addressed his recent letter to the interior minister in his capacity as secretary-general of his own party.