Calls for Civil Disobedience in Iran

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
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Calls for Civil Disobedience in Iran

People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
People light a fire during a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)

Demonstrations were renewed in several Iranian cities with increasing pressure on authorities to release the detainees amid calls for civil disobedience.

Protesters called for extensive participation to commemorate the mid-Nov 2019 protests, and schoolgirls made a "national appeal" to gather and participate in the three-days marches starting Tuesday.

Students of several universities continued their two-month protest movement, with several strikes at the Sharif University of Technology, the Tehran University of Art, and Al-Zahra University.

Students carried on with their protest and demanded the release of their detained colleagues and political prisoners.

A video circulated on social media showed a march at Qazvin University in support of activist Hossein Ronaghi, whose health has deteriorated in Evin Prison.

Hasan, Ronaghi's brother, said Hussien was transferred to Dey General Hospital. He called on Iranians to gather in front of the hospital to prevent security forces from moving him back to prison.

Ronaghi has been on a hunger strike since his arrest on Sept. 24 during the protests fueled by Mahsa Amini's death.

On Monday, the Iranian judiciary said that Ronaghi was taken to hospital and his health was "stable," denying claims that he had been physically injured before the hospitalization.

"Ronaghi's general state of health is stable, and he will soon be released from the hospital," according to AFP, citing the Iranian judiciary website, Mizan.

The website noted that authorities decided to send him to a hospital outside the prison to avoid any possible deterioration in his clinical condition and for him to receive additional treatment.

Later, Mizan published a photo of Ronaghi's meeting with his mother at the hospital. Reports said that the authorities allowed his parents to enter the hospital to visit him and check his condition.

The family reported that Ronaghi's kidneys had developed hydronephrosis due to the hunger strike and that he could not walk because his leg was broken during detention.

According to his brother, Ronaghi also began refusing water on Saturday in protest of the authorities' refusal to release him for treatment.

The activist has previously published articles in newspapers, including the Wall Street Journal, criticizing the human rights situation in Iran.

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights Organization expressed concern over reports of Ronaghi's deteriorating health.

Director of the organization Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said that Ronaghi's life was in great danger, adding that Iranian officials, especially Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, bear the responsibility for the safety of detainees.

Video also emerged on social media showing the moment Mehdi Hazrati, 17, was shot by security forces in Karaj during a march on Nov. 03 when mourners were paying tribute to Hadis Najafi at the cemetery to mark 40 days after she was killed in the city.

The head of the judiciary in Alborz described the incident as "suspicious," noting that the security personnel at the scene were not carrying firearms.

Meanwhile, an Iranian official in Khorasan announced the death of a Basij security force member during the unrest.

The French Press Agency said that the Basij member was shot by "rioters and anti-revolutionary elements" while he checked their identification cards in Mashhad.

Iranian authorities have adopted various tactics to quell the protests, which have become one of the country's most significant challenges since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Security forces used live ammunition, tear gas, and paintballs.

Iran accused the Western countries of orchestrating the protest. The UK, Canada, the EU, and the US imposed sanctions on Tehran over its human rights violations.

The activist HRANA news agency said 341 protesters had been killed in the unrest, including 52 minors. Thirty-nine members of the security forces had also been killed, while nearly 15,820 have been detained in 140 cities, it said.

Meanwhile, the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers' Trade Associations (CCITTA) called for an expansion of strikes and civil disobedience, calling on citizens to refrain from paying water, electricity, and gas bills.

The committee criticized 43 years of "self-punishment" imposed by the authority and blamed it for the "artificial inflation."

The statement noted that 70 percent of the Iranian people live below the poverty line.



Trump Signs Order Requiring Citizenship Proof in Federal Elections 

US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
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Trump Signs Order Requiring Citizenship Proof in Federal Elections 

US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump responds to questions from the news media during a meeting with ambassador nominees in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 25 March 2025. (EPA)

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered tighter controls on federal elections, including requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote, as the Republican continues to attack a system he insists remains tilted against him.

Experts swiftly denounced his executive order as an abuse of presidential power that could ultimately prevent millions of Americans from casting ballots, and rights groups already have vowed to challenge it in court.

Trump, now in his second term, has never acknowledged his defeat to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, and he maintains baseless claims of massive election fraud -- particularly in absentee voting, a method which has become widely used across the United States.

"Perhaps some people think I shouldn't be complaining, because we won in a landslide" last November, Trump said as he signed the executive order in the White House.

"But we've got to straighten out our election. This country is so sick because of the election, the fake elections," he said. "And we're going to straighten it out, one way or the other."

The new rules will require proof of citizenship to be presented -- through documents such as a passport -- when registering to vote in one's state of residence. US states that fail to comply with the directive could see cuts to their federal election funding.

According to the executive order, the attorney general would be empowered to "take all necessary action... against States that violate these provisions by including absentee or mail-in ballots received after Election Day in the final tabulation of votes."

Several states allow absentee ballots to be counted if they arrive after Election Day, provided they are postmarked before the polls close in their state.

For law professor Richard Hasen of the University of California, Los Angeles, this "dangerous" executive order could "potentially disenfranchise millions of voters."

On his Election Law blog, Hasen calls Trump's directive "an executive power grab," and notes that federal elections are largely the responsibility of the states, with Congress setting rules for the conduct of elections.

The Brennan Center, a nonprofit public policy institute, denounced the executive order, posting on X that it "would block tens of millions of American citizens from voting. Presidents have no authority to do this."

The powerful civil liberties group ACLU also slammed the order as "an extreme abuse of power" and suggested legal challenges would be filed. "We'll see him in court," it said.

Voting in US federal elections by non-citizens has been a criminal offense for decades, with the law threatening fines, imprisonment and deportation.