Iran protester: 'You know that you might never come back'

Protests successful Iran are continuing contempt a crackdown by information forces that 1 quality rights radical says has killed astatine slightest 201 people. The unrest erupted successful effect to the decease successful custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old pistillate detained by the morality constabulary for allegedly breaking the strict hijab rules.

There are dense restrictions connected autarkic and overseas reporting successful the country. But the BBC Today programme's Nick Robinson was capable to interrogation Fawaz - not his existent sanction - who has been protesting connected the streets successful Tehran.

The ambiance is rather tense and yet it is exciting. People are hopeful this clip and we anticipation that a existent alteration is conscionable astir the corner. I don't deliberation radical are consenting to springiness up this time. Now, we are seeing women successful the thoroughfare who are not wearing a hijab. They are walking past and radical are rather supportive. Drivers successful the thoroughfare honk whenever they spot a pistillate is not covered up. They don't screen up their heads.

Usually, the protests commencement successful the evening, successful the afternoon. And they are successful antithetic locations successful a city, truthful radical bash not conscionable stitchery circular successful 1 circumstantial area. If you conscionable spell out, you tin perceive cars honking. In immoderate parts, radical are retired successful the street. They are protesting against the information forces. And astatine night, the radical who bash not privation to permission their houses are shouting slogans similar "down with the dictator" retired of their windows. You tin perceive immoderate benignant of protestation everywhere, astir each night. That feels good, that feels truly good.

Nick Robinson: What benignant of radical are joining the protests?

Everyone. The salient figures successful this are really the women. They are to immoderate grade starring this. Their rights are portion of quality rights. That is wherefore immoderate radical mightiness telephone it a feminist movement. But what is mounting this isolated is the inclusion of minorities and the women astatine the front. And it's widespread. It is not conscionable successful large cities. It is successful smaller cities.

NR: When you face the information forces, however are they reacting?

When you instrumentality to the streets you should expect anything. Deep down, you cognize that you mightiness ne'er travel back. You mightiness get arrested, detained for days, months oregon adjacent years, arsenic we person seen before. So far, I person been lucky. I person been beaten with a baton [by information forces], I person been kicked. But I person seen worse. The concern is rather stressful, but it is rather hopeful arsenic well. It is stressful due to the fact that you ne'er cognize whether the idiosyncratic lasting adjacent to you is simply a subordinate of the information forces. And yet it is hopeful due to the fact that you tin spot that your dependable is yet being heard, particularly this clip connected an planetary level, contempt each the [internet] filtering that is going connected successful Iran.

NR: You spell retired connected the streets knowing, successful your words, that "you mightiness ne'er travel back". This is thing you are prepared to dice for?

Somewhere, astatine 1 time, for this to extremity we request to bash something. We should judge the challenges and the facts arsenic well. If we privation to accidental something, we cognize that we are going to springiness thing for it arsenic well, sometimes with our lives.

NR: For you, is this a protestation astir whether women deterioration the hijab? Or is it thing overmuch bigger than that?

It is astir thing overmuch bigger than that. If you look astatine the slogans astatine the protests, what radical are saying connected the streets, it has ne'er been - adjacent astatine the opening - astir the hijab. The hijab was conscionable the spark. It has ever been astir basal quality rights. We've ever wanted more. We've wanted what you mightiness instrumentality for granted arsenic a mean life. We privation life, liberty, justice, accountability, state of prime and assembly, a escaped press. We privation entree to our basal quality rights and an inclusive authorities that is really elected by the radical done a due predetermination and that works for the people.

NR: We are not utilizing your existent sanction for this interview. Are you taking a hazard speaking to the BBC?

Yes, it's a large hazard due to the fact that it is considered a transgression successful Iran if you talk to overseas quality broadcasts. You mightiness easy get arrested, punished, imprisoned. The consequences are severe.

NR: Do you person anticipation that the alteration that you truthful desperately privation mightiness hap this time?

Hope is each we person and I americium consenting to instrumentality to it. I anticipation astatine slightest our voices volition beryllium heard. That's each I tin accidental astir this.