Following the Dey protest wave, the Islamic Republic imposed a total internet blackout lasting more than eighty days to suppress witness accounts. Concurrently, an escalating conflict distracted attention from the violence citizens had survived. Now, nearly seven months after that brutal crackdown, eyewitnesses and residents have begun coming forward to share what transpired across Shiraz and Fars province.
Fars province and its capital, Shiraz, experienced intense state violence and high casualties during the Dey demonstrations, a scale of suppression that witnesses argue remains underreported. Narrators emphasize that state violence in Fars province did not begin on Dey 18, but rather escalated as early as the evening of Dey 7.
The “313 Companions” Complex in Shiraz and Organized Crackdowns
A local observer present in western Shiraz during the protests detailed how local suppression units were organized:
“On the southern side of Farhangshahr Boulevard in Shiraz, right past the Sajadiyeh fire station, lies land that until a few years ago was covered in grape orchards. Those orchards have since been replaced by high-rise residential complexes. Under the cover of residential housing, many of these towers serve as gathering points and command centers for Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) personnel. Residents of these complexes formed rapid-response teams during the Dey protests to coordinate the suppression of demonstrators.”
