On Saturday, February 16th, pickets and rallies were held in several countries around the world in solidarity with arrested students in Iran. They were held in London, Gothenburg and Luleå (Sweden), in Oslo, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Amsterdam, The Hague, Bern, Zurich, Hamburg, Washington, Los Angeles and Toronto.
Supporters of the International Marxist Tendency in Switzerland sent us this short report: "Today we participated in the International Day of Solidarity for the imprisoned Iranian Students. In front of the Iranian Embassy in Bern there was a lot of Police and members of the State Protection, the Federal Intelligence Agency of Switzerland that stopped us from getting to the Embassy. There was a big group of Iranian refugees present from all over Switzerland, most of them from the Democratic Refugees Club. After having shouted some slogans in front of the Embassy, the group started walking toward the city centre. About 100 people took part at this demonstration, shouting slogans such as "Freedom for all political prisoners in Iran", "Destroy the Islamic Iranian Republic", "The Mullahs are Terrorists" and more. We took some pictures of the event, which are here attached. We send our solidarity to all the imprisoned students and oppressed Iranian people. Revolutionary Greetings, Der Funke Switzerland"
In Denmark the comrades were holding a day school the same day and so couldn't get to the Embassy but they sent us a message of solidarity for the Iranian students and sent us a picture that we are publishing here.
In Britain a picket was held in Trafalgar Square, London, protesting the arrest, torture and continued detention of left-wing students by the Iranian state. Around 100 activists were present from different British and Iranian organisations. Supporters of the Socialist Appeal distributed a leaflet calling for the release of the jailed students and solidarity with the workers and youth of Iran. The protest was concluded in a peaceful manner, and there is a global day of action planned for the 6th March to protest the regime's repression of workers who have attempted to organise trade unions.
In the USA, there was a picket outside the Iranian Embassy. It began at approximately 3 pm. The comrades stood on the sidewalk outside the embassy holding the sign of the "Militaant" and the "Free All Jailed Iranian Students" slogan. After approximately ten minutes of demonstration, an embassy official confronted the comrades and insisted that the demonstration was illegal due to their lack of State Department permission and Iranian citizenship. After he threatened to call the police, the comrades remained at the embassy. The demonstration continued for approximately an hour and a half without any police intervention.
The campaign for the release of the students continues.