More than 400 people lined Tampa’s Riverwalk Saturday in support of protests erupting across Iran after the death of a young woman arrested by morality police three weeks ago.
With chants of “Woman. Life. Freedom” and “Say Her Name” demonstrators urged onlookers to join the call for regime change Iran. The Freedom for Iran rally, one of more than 100 worldwide on Saturday, was in response to the death of Mahsa Amani, a 22-year-old arrested for wearing her traditional head-covering too loosely. She died while in morality police custody.
“For Mahsa Amani, who unveiled the truth, for the world to see, please be our voice,” Fargam Neinavaie told the crowd.
A teaching assistant at the University of South Florida Medical School and president of the Iranian-Student Association at USF, Neinavaie helped organize the downtown Tampa rally. She said the strong turnout gave her hope.
“I’m greatly happy, and I can’t say how much I appreciate each person’s presence,” she said. “I hope we can see more and more of this and celebrate freedom all together.”
Another rally is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 8 at 4:30 p.m. by the Tampa Convention Center.
