Major rally in support of Iran protests draws 350,000 in North York

Around 350,000 people marched down Yonge Street to the beat of drums and chants of “King Reza Pahlavi” at a rally in North York, as similar protests took place in major cities around the world.

Protesters held aloft and draped themselves in red, white and green flags emblazoned with a golden lion — the flag Iran used before the Islamic Republic came to power in 1979, toppling the previous monarchy. 

Demonstrators called for an end to government repression in Iran as widespread protests inside the country have been met with violent crackdowns. 

“It’s hard to see that our friends and families in Iran are being kept in prison for no reason, being shot in the head for (using) their democratic voice,” said Nima Najafi. 

Najafi said he attended an earlier protest in solidarity with anti-government protesters in Iran that took place two weeks ago at Toronto’s Sankofa Square. He said Saturday’s protest is twice as large. 

Toronto police said late Saturday they estimated the crowd at 350,000. A similar peaceful rally earlier this month in downtown Toronto drew 150,000 people.

Police said one person had been arrested for assault in the area of Yonge Street and Homewood Avenue just after 3 p.m., but provided no further details of the incident.

Najafi and others called for the return of Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, saying he is only leader capable of helping eventually transition Iran to a democracy. 

Hundreds of protesters at the march held pictures of Pahlavi, along with photos of protesters killed in Iran. 

Najafi said he was initially against calls for foreign powers to intervene in Iran but now he believes it is the only path forward.

“I had a friend who got shot in the head. He died. He was a pharmacist … a high school friend,” he said. “I had another friend who is imprisoned because he was a doctor treating patients.”

Among those who walked with the protesters was Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

“Today, I stood shoulder to shoulder with thousands in Toronto for the Global Day of Action for Iran,” Ford said in a social media post. “We stand firmly with you in your fight for human rights, freedom and a democratic future.”

Arash Karimi said he was protesting on Yonge Street in solidarity with unarmed civilians who have been killed in Iran since protests broke out, calling government crackdowns a “one-sided war against the people.”

“Every Iranian knows someone, relatives or friends, (who have been) killed,” he said. 

Amirali Ahzan, a protester who wore an Iranian lion and sun flag as well as a rainbow pride flag on his back, said he hopes the current unrest in Iran leads to political change that will guarantee more rights for the Iranian people.

Ahzan said he fled Iran three years ago because he feared for his safety as a member of the LGBTQ community. Homosexuality is criminalized in Iran. 

Before he fled, Ahzan said he was briefly jailed in Iran for attending a party where alcohol was present. Consuming alcohol is also banned in Iran. 

Ahzan said it’s unclear how many LGBTQ Iranians have been killed or imprisoned since protests broke out. He said he was marching Saturday in their honour.

“I think it’s my duty to be their voice,” he said. “There are so many people like me who have been marginalized and criminalized. I do want to stand up for them.”

Ahzan said he wants Pahlavi to lead a “free Iran” and called on the exiled crown prince to improve women’s rights, trans rights and human rights in the country.

Saturday’s rally is one of many happening worldwide as part of what Pahlavi has labelled a Global Day of Action. 

Pahlavi said Toronto, Munich and Los Angeles would be the main gathering points for Iranians living abroad to protest and call for regime change in Iran. 

A protest in Munich was attended by more than 200,000 people, according to German news agency dpa. 

Countrywide protests erupted in Iran on Dec. 28 after an economic crisis sent the country’s currency into free fall. While early demonstrations were driven by rising costs of living, protesters have since shifted their focus to broader demands for political change.

 The death toll from those nationwide protests has exceeded 7,000, with many more still feared dead, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Iran’s government offered its only death toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. 

With files from The Canadian Press