After what was arguably the most significant, and unexpected, shows of solidarity with anti-government protests, observers worry there could be serious repercussions.
Standing in a line, arms flung over each others shoulders, the players of Iran’s World Cup football team stood stone-faced Monday as their country’s national anthem played ahead of their first World Cup match — their refusal to sing an “unprecedented” show of defiance as anti-government protests rock the country.
Her death ignited existing concerns over an oppressive Shia Muslim theocracy and a slumping economy, and the resulting protests — which involved women cutting their hair and burning hijabs — were met with violent crackdowns. Several hundred people have been killed by government forces in the past two months, non-profit groups say, in what has become one of the biggest eruptions of unrest since the revolution in 1979.
According to news reports, her friends had been unable to reach her for a period of time after the competition, and when she returned to Iran she apologized, saying the head covering had accidentally fallen off.who said the apology was forced and that authorities had threatened to take her family’s property and that she remains under house arrest.
While many of the Iranian athletes live and play around the world, Koehler said that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be free from repercussions, as there have been instances of Iran targeting people in the United States, for example: “I think everything’s on the table, in terms of what could potentially happen to these athletes.”
But there’s no question officials will be angry — the protests are a very public rebuke to a regime that is clinging to power in the face of one of the most significant uprisings since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, as well as growing condemnation from the international community. Just last week, Canada announcedin response to what was described as the country’s “gross and systematic human rights violations.
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