In the wake of the nationwide protests that gripped Iran at the turn of 2018, leading to over two dozen deaths and putting hundreds behind bars, President Hassan Rouhani was among the few within the ruling elite to express the need for “authorized protest sites.” After a few months, the idea now seems closer to being translated into action.
During a June 10 Cabinet meeting, the administration ratified a detailed plan specifying such venues in the capital city of Tehran, ranging from large stadiums to popular parks and even one site just outside the parliament’s premises. The decision was, in a way, an amendment to an existing law enshrined in Article 27 of the Iranian Constitution, allowing “peaceful and unarmed” rallies if they are in no breach of “Islamic principles.” What the government approved was also a proposal originally drafted by Tehran’s city council only a few weeks following the December-January protests.
