Thousands of people took part in a protest against Iranian authorities in central Berlin on Saturday after the first round of the presidential election.
Police estimated the number at Bebelplatz and Unter den Linden in the city center at around 6,000 by mid-afternoon, as demonstrators continued to join the demonstration. Organizers had registered a protest for up to 8,000 participants, with members of the German parliament also expected to attend.
Iran’s National Council of Resistance, an opposition movement founded in 1981 and banned in the country, had called for protests against the country’s theocratic government on Friday as the first round of elections took place.
The council said the protest was aimed at Iran’s clerical regime. Attendees came in hundreds of buses from all over Germany. Many waved the pre-revolutionary Iranian state flag with a golden lion in the middle.
About 61 million Iranians are eligible to vote in the elections. The second round will take place on Friday, July 5.
International observers do not consider Iran’s elections to be free and fair because the country’s Guardian Council vets candidates and excludes those deemed unqualified. Fundamental criticism of the country’s theocratic system is not allowed.
The National Council of Resistance of Iran emerged from the People’s Mujahideen of Iran and aims to overthrow the Iranian ruling system. It is seen as controversial both inside and outside Iran, and is largely rejected by other opposition groups.
