Thousands of people joined a protest against Iranian authorities in central Berlin on Saturday, following the first round of presidential elections.
Police estimated the number at Bebelplatz and Unter den Linden in the city center at around 6,000 by mid-afternoon, with protesters continuing to join the demonstration. Organizers registered a protest for up to 8,000 participants, with members of the German parliament also present.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran, an opposition movement created in 1981 and banned in the country, called for the protest on Friday, when the first round of elections took place, to protest against the country’s theocratic government.
The council said the protest is directed against the Iranian clerical regime. Participants came in hundreds of buses from all over Germany. Many waved the pre-revolutionary flag of the Iranian state with a golden lion in the center.
Around 61 million Iranians are eligible to vote in the elections, with the second round scheduled for Friday, July 5.
International observers do not consider Iran’s elections to be free and fair, as the country’s Guardian Council vets candidates and excludes those deemed unsuitable. Fundamental criticism of the country’s theocratic system is not allowed.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran emerged from the People’s Mujahedin of Iran and aims to overthrow the ruling Iranian system. It is seen as controversial, both inside and outside Iran, and is widely rejected by other opposition groups.
