A CAMPAIGN to free Iran from the current regime and its "brutal human rights violations" has reached Winchester High Street.
Members of the Association of Iranian Academics in Exile were collecting signatures for a petition to pressure the government to have the country's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) recognised as a terrorist group.
Mehdi Manesh and Fara Mahmoudi were there on the street to inform members of the public about the gloomy conditions many Iranians face today and their increasingly lethal government.
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Mr Manesh said: "Our members actively support the human rights of the Iranians who are seeking freedom and democracy. Because we are Iranian, we are trying to draw attention to the executions that are happening now in Iran, because it's happening every day."
He says that, since the new president Masoud Pezeshkian was elected earlier this year, nearly 500 people have been killed.
Even worse, says Mr Manesh, a retired university lecturer originally from Tehran, the situation is deteriorating rapidly.
"They are dictators," he said. "They are getting worse and worse every day. We believe the new revolution will happen soon in Iran because 90 per cent, 99 per cent of the Iranian people are not happy with the regime. They want change."
Among other things, the economy in Mr Manesh's home country has suffered greatly, he believes, due to the way Iran has been run by past and present leaders.
He added: "Iran was a very rich country. But now it's a poor country, and that's why the people seek to change the regime.
"The main thing is to put the IRGC on the terrorist list because they are actually killing Iranian people. At the moment all of parliament is asking [for this] but the Home Office is [hesitating]. That's our main job here."
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On its website, the Association of Iranian Academics in Exile describes itself as follows: "Our society is founded by academics who feel that we must let the world know about the calamity in Iran to save people's lives on their journey to change the current regime for establishing a Free Democratic Republic in Iran."
As well as Winchester, the association has recently toured to cities and towns across the south of the country, including London, Romsey, Milton and Manchester.
More information can be found at academicsinexile.com.
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