Iranians living in UK hold London rally to support Iran protesters

Members of the Iranian diaspora rally in London in support of protesters in Iran, where demonstrations have spread to more than two dozen cities over the last week.

Around 100 pro-democracy demonstrators gather outside Downing Street for the rally organized by the Association of Anglo-Iranian Women in the UK, waving Iranian flags, chanting slogans and listening to speeches by speakers.

A separate, similarly sized protest is held nearby in support of the deposed shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his US-based son, Reza Pahlavi.

“It is really important that we show our solidarity with the people of Iran,” Zohreh Zanjani, 65, a former political prisoner in Iran who fled the country three decades ago, tells AFP as she joined the Association of Anglo-Iranian Women event.

“We are trying to make a bridge between the people inside Iran and outside of Iran,” she adds.

“So people like myself, we get courage from the people of Iran’s resistance, and of course they get courage from seeing that their voices have been heard outside.”

Omid Ebrahimi, a 28-year-old doctor born in Iran who moved to Britain as a child, says exiles like him are “very hopeful” watching the protests spread across his birthplace.

“Once again, the Iranian people have shown that this is a dictatorial regime that they do not want,” he tells AFP.

“Everyone is using this as an opportunity to voice their dissent towards this regime… they know the price for freedom, but many of them, they don’t have a choice.

“They don’t see any other alternative to rise up and get rid of this regime, whatever the cost may be.”