'Free Iran' Activists Report Hundreds of Acts of Defiance Inside the Country

By Patrick Goodenough | June 29, 2017 | 4:15 AM EDT

(CNSNews.com) – Ahead of a large annual “Free Iran” gathering in Paris on Saturday, the exiled Iranian opposition movement says hundreds of incidents of risky expressions of support have been taking place inside Iran – from distribution of pamphlets to the appearance of posters and graffiti.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)/People’s Mujahedeen Organization of Iran (MEK) says hundreds of videos and photos of the incidents have been taken in dozens of towns and cities, and compiled a sample in a video clip.

Photos of NCRI leaders Maryam and Massoud Rajavi feature prominently, along with slogans which the NCRI translated as saying, among other things, “My vote regime change, down with Khamenei, our choice Maryam Rajavi.”

Such demonstrations are highly risky in Iran, a repressive state that has outlawed the NCRI/MEK as a “terrorist” group and executes hundreds of people each year for crimes including political and security offenses.

An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman on Wednesday referred to the group as a “hypocrite cult.”