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On January 27, 2025, supporters of the Iranian Resistance rallied in Zurich, Switzerland, to call for saving the lives of political prisoners in Iran
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UPDATE: 7:00 AM CET
How Iran’s Regime Tries to Maintain Its Hold on Power Through Internet Censorship
The mullahs’ regime ruling Iran has an absolute desire for “hegemony” over the people in all religious, political, professional, and social affairs. Over more than four decades, this quest for hegemony has come at the cost of various forms of censorship, lies, and crimes. These characteristics break loose when it comes to the age of the internet. Why? Because the energy and minds of people are freed from the grip of a totalitarian regime, no longer yielding to censorship, lies, and clerical domination. This situation, with such dynamics, has sparked a confrontation between society and the regime. In other words, there is a fierce battle and struggle underway, aiming to transition from this stage to an “Iranian Renaissance.”
This ongoing battle over the internet has ignited a confrontation between the people and the regime over filtering. The clerics seek to maintain their absolute “hegemony” by imposing filtering, while the people aim to uproot and destroy this hegemony along with all its manifestations and tools.
Iran: A Year of Resistance and the Fight Against Political Executions
In Iran, a powerful movement against state executions continues to gather momentum as the “No to Execution Tuesdays” campaign, initiated by political prisoners in Qezel Hesar Prison on January 29, 2024, enters its second year. This grassroots protest has become a nationwide symbol of resistance against what activists call “executions with political objectives.” Today, this campaign marks its 53rd consecutive week of hunger strikes, involving inmates from 34 prisons across the country.
The campaign was launched in response to the Iranian judiciary’s brutal use of executions and inhumane death sentences as tools of repression. In a recent statement, participants declared: “We, political and non-political prisoners in 34 prisons from the four corners of Iran, have begun the second year of the ‘No to Execution Tuesdays’ campaign with renewed determination. On the 53rd Tuesday of this campaign, we went on a hunger strike. May our voices unite with the voices of Iranian women, men, and youth outside the prison walls, contributing to the defense of human rights and the dismantling of the gallows.”
The Deterioration of Workers’ Wages in Iran: A Decade of Decline
The ILNA News Agency has highlighted the alarming deterioration in workers’ living standards and wages in Iran. According to its report on Monday, January 27, the real value of workers’ salaries has plummeted to a quarter of what it was in 2014. Factoring in inflation and the sharp devaluation of the national currency, the report estimates that to restore the purchasing power of 2014, workers today would need a monthly income of nearly 50 million tomans. However, the current average salary is approximately 12 million tomans, far below what is needed to maintain a basic standard of living.
Warning Signs of a New Uprising in Iran
Recently, the state-run daily Asr-e Iran issued a stark warning to Iranian regime officials about the potential for new protests, writing, “If dissatisfaction persists, it will lead to uprising and revolution.” This concern is not limited to the media; it is echoed by some of the regime’s leading clerics. Naser Makarem Shirazi, one of the most prominent figures within the ruling establishment, has voiced similar fears.
His statements reflect the deep anxiety within the regime over the potential collapse of their grip on power, particularly in the wake of the nationwide protests in 2022. The gap between the regime and the people is widening rapidly, and the regime has lost much of its social support.