MONTREAL – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau marched alongside demonstrators in the Canadian capital of Ottawa on Saturday in support of the more than 40-day-long rallies in Iran.
“The women in Iran, daughters and grandmothers and allies… they will not be forgotten,” Trudeau declared as he stood in front of a white banner covered in dozens of red hand prints.
Six weeks of protests have gripped Iran after Mahsa Amini, 22, died in detention after being arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict clothing laws for women.
“We will support you. I’ll march with you and grasp your hand. “We will continue to stand with this lovely community,” Trudeau stated before concluding his statement by raising his fist and yelling Persian slogans.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the prime minister’s wife, also attended the protest, stating, “I stand with you because when one woman’s right is denied, it is a sign of disrespect for all women.”
“And we shall not abandon our sister.”
Trudeau cited numerous rounds of penalties placed by the Canadian government on senior Iranian officials in the last month as a result of the regime’s “gross and systemic human rights breaches.”
Amini supporters also marched in other Canadian cities such as Vancouver, Montreal, and Toronto, where they created human chains.
Thousands of people demonstrated in Paris and across France on Saturday.
Source: AFP