By Dashty Jamal

On July 11^th, protesters demonstrated in front of the Iranian Embassy in London, demanding the release of Yasser Ahmadi-Nezhad, a labour activist from the Iranian Oil Company who has been sentenced to 33 months in prison on charges of “propaganda against the state.” A number of activists from the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and several comrades from the UK organisation of the Worker-Communist Party of Kurdistan (WPK) participated in the event.

As protesters chanted slogans such as “Freedom for Yasser Ahmadi-Nezhad,” “Freedom for all political prisoners,” and “Down with the Islamic Regime of Iran,” a group of thugs and  hired goons loyal to Reza Pahlavi – who were displaying posters of Pahlavi alongside Israeli, American, and monarchist flags – began a counter-confrontation. Some of them had set up tents in Hyde Park, opposite the embassy. Upon our arrival, they began heckling and shouting against us to disrupt the protest, then filming our comrades for the purpose of provocation and espionage. When one of the thugs was confronted when he attempted to take a close-up photo of one of our comrades, he suddenly attacked our comrade and fled the scene.

This is not the first time that Reza Pahlavi’s thugs – who act as mercenaries for the US and Israel and advocate for the destruction of Iran and the slaughter of its people through foreign bombardment in hopes of being rewarded by the US – have attacked the Iranian political opposition, specifically the leftist opposition. Their aim is to destabilize the political environment for activists abroad. This reactionary group, whose ‘deposed Shah’ regime killed and imprisoned tens of thousands of political opponents, is now playing the same role against freedom-seekers and labour activists, even in places where they hold no power.

When the  police arrived at the scene, we filed a formal complaint against the attacker. The police decided to collect and review all CCTV footage and the body-cam footage of the officer who witnessed the event. We will be informed of the next legal steps.

We will not allow these people to pollute or destabilize the political space of the opposition abroad. We will not overlook these thuggish actions and will take all legal measures to bring them to justice.

We call upon all and freedom-seeking parties and organisations in Iran and Britain to stand against this unleashed fascist trend. These reactionary and anti-labour elements must not be allowed to endanger activists or disrupt the political activities of the opposition. Through these foul actions, they are providing a great service to the Islamic Regime of Iran.

Dashty Jamal is a member of the Solidarity with the Iranian Workers’ Movement Committee (Chair: John McDonnell MP).

Image c/o Labour Hub.