BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Dozens of Iranian-Americans gathered outside the Louisiana State Capitol today to protest Iran’s government and support calls for basic freedoms by Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi.
Hamed Ghassemi, who organized the demonstration, said the group aims to challenge the current regime.
“We are trying to dismantle a terrorist regime,” Ghassemi said.
Protests follow Crown Prince’s call for international demonstrations
Ghassemi, originally from Iran, said he was following calls for demonstrations by Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, a political alternative to the Islamic Republic. Pahlavi is calling for basic freedoms in Iran.
Inflation, a lack of basic human rights, and violent government response to protesters have sparked an uproar. International media is reporting at least 51 deaths since the protests began this week.
Ghassemi said Pahlavi’s leadership inspired today’s event.
“All he is asking for is freedom. Freedom for the people of the country, he just wants to be able to return to his country and live as a person. He’s not looking for anything special, and we’re here to support him,” Ghassemi said.
Personal connection to Iran’s struggles
Ghassemi came to Baton Rouge in 1995. In 2015, his mother was the victim of a high-profile murder-for-hire plot. Her ex-husband and Ghassemi’s father, Hamid, was convicted of her death. She was found dumped in St. Helena Parish.
While traveling back to Iran to lay his mother to rest, Ghassemi said he was jailed for a year over his beliefs and was labeled a traitor to Iran. He was freed only after he pleaded his case before an Iranian judge. A higher court ultimately told him to leave the country a year later.
Ghassemi said he has been unable to visit his mother’s grave for 10 years.
“It’s really emotional because I haven’t been able to visit my mother’s grave in 10 years. And it’s probably one of the hardest things that I could face in daily life. I try to pretend that I’m a very strong person, but inside I’m not, I know I’m not,” Ghassemi said.
Hope for change in Iran
Ghassemi and others at the Capitol said they sense real change happening in Iran.
“You know, so we want to see a good Iran. I want to see my American friends there visiting me in my city of Bam. I want to be able to shake people’s hands on the street in Iran and say, you can say whatever the heck you want now, you can speak as freely as you want now,” Ghassemi said.
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