More than a thousand protesters in The Hague support action against the Iranian regime

More than a thousand people gathered on the Malieveld in The Hague on Saturday to support women in Iran. The initiators of the action, including GroenLinks MP Farah Karimi and former PvdA leader Lilianne Ploumen, are calling on the Dutch government to speak out against the Iranian regime.

The protesters are carrying Iranian flags and posters reading "Free Iran" and "Stop Bloodshed in Iran." People shouted "death to the Islamic Republic" in Farsi.

In a speech, Karimi called women's freedom and self-determination is "a nail in the coffin of the regime in Iran."

"We know that the government will do everything it can to stay in power." According to Karimi, the activists must make a fist together –– "then hope can become real."

After the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last month in the custody of so-called morality police, there have been daily demonstrations in Iran for more freedom and equal rights. Amini died after she was arrested for not covering her head according to the rules. The Iranian government is cracking down on the protesters.

The activists believe that the Netherlands should argue in the European Union and the United Nations, among other places, for sanctions against the Iranian regime. They also want the Netherlands to call the Iranian ambassador to the fore and strongly condemn the police brutality in Iran.

Several politicians spoke at the meeting, including D66 MP Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, SP party leader Lilian Marijnissen and Sylvana Simons of BIJ1.

In the United States, Australia and Germany, among others, activists are also meeting at the same time to show their support for women in Iran.