TEHRAN – Iran’s top human rights official on Monday condemned Canada’s heavy-handed measures to stifle protests which have rocked its capital and other cities over the past few weeks.
“Peaceful protesters in the so-called Land of the Free are shushed, and guess what? Nobody ever dares to talk about egregious human rights violations taking place on a daily basis in Canada. Well, the critics may have been shushed, too!” Kazem Gharibabadi tweeted.
His remarks came after Canadian authorities claimed to have put an end to the demonstrations which saw the government invoke the Emergency Act for the first time in 50 years in the country’s history.
Police on Sunday smashed the windows of vehicles parked in the downtown core of the capital to search and tow them away after the city witnessed two days of tense standoffs.
Security forces also manned checkpoints restricting access to a 200-hectare downtown area, and put a sizable force on standby to disperse protesters. They took down tents, food stands and other makeshift structures erected by the demonstrators.
The sweep came on the back of violent crackdowns by police, deploying chemical irritants, pepper spray and stun grenades against protesters and detaining hundreds of people in several cities.
Many protesters said they would keep pressing their cause.
The ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests initially started in Ottawa on January 29 by Canadian truckers opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers. They soon morphed into a wider protest, with people joining in with smaller vehicles, including cars, vans and pick-up trucks.