French police arrest 20 protesters at banned Iran rally

French police arrested approximately 20 people in central Paris on Saturday, June 20, after dispersing a banned protest against executions and repression in Iran. Authorities had prohibited the rally the previous evening, citing concerns over potential clashes in a tense national and international context.

Hundreds of demonstrators defied the ban, gathering at Place Vauban. Protesters chanted slogans against the Iranian government and held portraits of individuals they said had been executed by Tehran. Organizers, including the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an Iranian opposition group, filed an emergency motion to overturn the ban, but a Paris court upheld it on Saturday.

Police moved to break up the gathering. A police source confirmed the arrests, while an NCRI member, Afchine Alavi, stated that police used pepper spray and that around a dozen protesters were injured. He asserted there was no violence from the demonstrators. One protester, Shokouleh Majd, criticized the ban, stating that peaceful demonstrators were being prevented from denouncing executions in Iran.

The police order banning the event referenced the risk of clashes between activists with...